[Report 1964] / Medical Officer of Health, Wayland R.D.C.

  • Wayland (England). Rural District Council.
Date:
1964
Catalogue details

Licence: Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)

Credit: [Report 1964] / Medical Officer of Health, Wayland R.D.C. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    21/30 (page 15)
    Investigation of a further complaint^ concerning the condition of a frozen chicken vjas discontinued. \;hen it nas learned that no portion of the chicken remained and tnat no complaint v?as m-ade concerning the condition of chickens of the same batch. A complaint from a grocer alleging that a leg of pork purchased from a butcher 7;as unfit^ v/as investigated and it v/as found that the meat had been delivered twent^^-four hours before the complaint nas aiade. A tin of salmon, packed in Canada, vias found to contain part of a finger bandage. In this case a letter of v;a,rning -.-as for\7aided via the wholesalers to the importers pointing out that an offence had been committed and reguesting more rigid supervision at the packing establishment. (c) FOOD P]REIvlIS:C&. Routine inspections of food premises have been carried out on a limited scale during the year and improvements in prexaises and food-handling techniques have been effected as a result. One multiple grocer has undertaken to rebuild a warehouse which at present is below the .standard necessary for the stora^re of foodstuffs. COLIiSCTIOK dlD DISPOSAL OF kllJUbE. This service was maintained in a reasonably satisfactoiy manner although there was more disruption of collection schedules than in past years owing to breakdoym of vehicles and unnecessarily long off the road periods owing to unavailability of vehicle spares. An increase in the use of prepackaged foods in countiy areas has in recent years added to the >.>ulk of refuse, much of it burnable, whilst a decrease in the use of solid fuel has reduced the amount of asii, cinder and clinker which formerly assisted in consolidation and covering of the putrefactive content of dumps. The construction of new private dwellings has also continued at a high level with the result that the capacity of vehicles is now barely adequate for removal of refuse from the collection areas they serve. The eepense involved and the difilculty of finding sufficient material for covering reitise tips properly presents another problem in this service. In the financial year ended March 1964, the cost of the service was below £6,500^ less than a 4d. r. te. This means the the cost per house served t7us about 22/6d. for the year and the cost per bin collected, approximately 6d. These costs compare more than favourably with those of other Districts but increasing demands on the service have nov/ brought the organisation dovm to a shoe-string existence, needing drastic expansion and reorganisation if the job is to be done efficiently and in conformity with modern standards. It is evident that, in course of time, disposal space will not be available .and although, y.dth this thought in mind, the Council looked at and rejected, owing to excessive costs, the possibility of pulverisation, a future solution \yould seem to lie in a joint scheme with neighbouring authorities for the provision of a central pulverisation plant. The obvious draw-back to such a scheme is the cost of long hauls to the disposal point, but this would, to a great extent, be offset by the use of large compression type vehicles and the closure of numerous dumps at present in use. As a first step towards solution of our problems the Council agreed that in the next financial year one of the larger vehicles be brour?ht into service.