CARE AND DISPOSAL OF MANURE REGULATIONS IN MANY AMERICAN CITIES--PROVISIONS FOR STORING AND REMOVING THE WASTE--CARE OF STABLES

Some cities have made very stringent regulations for the care, collection and disposal of stable manure within their limits; others are not so exacting and many have not as yet given any thought to the subject, or if they have no municipal laws have been enacted. The importance of municipal regulation is recognized by all sanitarians, and especially since the house fly has been regarded as one of the chief spreaders of disease. If for no other reason than to eliminate the greatest breeding place of the fly, stable manure should be properly cared for, and stables and other places where animals are kept in cities should be clean.

The regulations of most cities require the individual to dispose of the manure on the premises he owns or occupies. Only a few cities have a municipal collection system or have the work done under contract. In those cities where gardeners and farmers are permitted to collect the waste voluntarily no trouble has been experienced during the winter months when the farmer is not busy on the soil, but during the spring and summer, when the need of cleanliness is greatest, but when the farmer is too busy planting and harvesting, the collection is neglected. Minneapolis is one of the cities which have suffered in this way. In several cities one or more companies deal in manure, maintaining wagons exclusively for collection purposes. The manure is carted either to the railroad direct for shipment or to persons purchasing it. In most instances these companies pay a small amount for the manure. The stable manure in Washington is collected and disposed of in this manner. Toronto, Canada, contracts with four different companies to remove the manure. These make a nominal charge for the collection, the city being under no expense. In Jersey City the waste is carted away by private contractors and most of it is sold to farmers. Denver transfers its stable manure to the city dump where it is hid during the summer months and in the spring is sold to gardeners. The city sanitary inspector does not regard this plan as satisfactory.

There seems to be an unanimity of opinion among most municipal sanitarians that the city itself should be prepared to remove manure when owners or occupants fail or refuse to do so. Every owner should be allowed to sell it if he can; otherwise, it should be regarded as a nuisance, and the city should remove it without compensating the owner, but charging him for the service. Unquestionably as cities continue to grow and as congestion becomes greater such a plan will be adopted by most municipalities.

One of the best systems in operation is that in Columbus, Ohio, where manure is collected by municipal employees from any stable within the city limits. The Columbus ordinance provides that any person desiring to have the manure removed must take out a permit for such service at a yearly charge of $3 for one horse, $5 for two horses and $1 for each additional horse. After the ordinance became a law the Department of Public Safety began to notify the public that from and after April 1, 1912, no manure would be removed without the payment of a fee.

Between September 1 and June 1 the demand for manure is greatly in excess of the supply and the city could sell three or four times as much as it collects. During the remainder of the year there is practically no demand for the waste as farmers cannot handle it.

The collection is made under the following rules: Whenever a person pays to the city treasury the ordinance charge for manure collection the Department of Public Service is notified on a blank form. The name, address, permit number, and number of horses are recorded in alphabetical order. To each of the four drivers employed in collection is given a separate list of barns from which to collect, and each evening he reports the places from which he made collection during the day.

Following is a detailed statement of the cost of collection and the receipts from the sale of manure for 1916 when prices were normal:

Total number of loads hauled	1486
Total number of tons collected	2972
Expenses
Teams and labor	$2,689.25
Superintendent, inspection, etc.	200.21
Repairs, etc.	546.49
Receipts
Sale of manure	$2,029.50
Receipts from citizens for collection	672.00
Cash on hand	15.00
Open account on books for year	148.00
Net cost	739.90
Cost of collection per load	2.31
Cost of collection per load less receipts	.49
Cost of collection per ton less receipts	.24½

The Civil Engineer of the Columbus Health Department says that a market has been found for the entire output of the city, the prevailing price being $2 a wagon load delivered anywhere inside the city limits, and for shipment $15 per average car f. o. b. cars, city loading station. He further says that about 15 per cent. of the manure produced in Columbus, a city of 200,000 inhabitants, is collected. “It seems,” he says, “perfectly possible to collect all manure produced in the city at a very low cost to the municipality, for during the year 1913 only three 2-ton wagons were used in manure collection and they proved to be sufficient to handle the work with ease.”

In Chicago manure must be removed every seventy-two hours and collected by licensed scavengers at the expense of the stable owner. Only during the last two or three years was specific authority over stables granted to the Health Department, which immediately began an inspection of all stables. Of the first 500 inspected it was found that from a sanitary standpoint they were in very poor condition.

An example of stringent regulations in a large city is the ordinance adopted by New York City. It follows:

“No manure vault, pit or bin shall be allowed upon the premises used for stabling purposes, except upon premises used for barning in unimproved sections of the city. All manure and stable refuse shall be kept within the stable and removed daily, or if not removed daily shall be pressed into bales or barrels adequately screened or otherwise protected or covered so that flies cannot have access thereto, or otherwise treated as approved by the Department of Health. All such manure or stable refuse so baled, barreled or treated, shall be removed from stables at least twice weekly.

“The loading of manure for removal shall be done within the stable without causing a nuisance.

“No person shall engage in the business of transporting manure or drive any cart for that purpose, in the City of New York, without a permit therefor issued by the Board of Health or otherwise than in accordance with the terms of said permit and with the regulations of said board.

“The permit issued by the Board of Health shall be securely fastened in a conspicuous place, on the right side near the front of the vehicle used in the transportation of offensive materials. Vehicles used in the transportation of offensive materials while loaded, either wholly or in part, shall not remain on the street or place any unreasonable length of time, and shall not, except when unavoidable, stop in front of any premises other than those from which material is being collected.

“All vehicles and contents therein shall be thoroughly cleaned upon the completion of a day’s use, and so stored as not to cause a nuisance.

“Manure may be transported to a dump operated under a permit issued by the Department of Health or to firms in the unimproved sections of the city, or to points outside the city of New York. Every vehicle used in transporting manure shall be tight and provided with a suitable cover so as to prevent the dropping of manure upon the streets; if the cover be of canvas or of other similar material, it shall be of sufficient size completely to cover the manure within the vehicle and shall be securely fastened on all sides of the vehicle.

“No vehicle engaged in the transportation of manure shall be permitted to load upon the sidewalk, in the alleyway, in the yard or any place except the stable.”

For a small city the ordinance of Newburgh, New York, contains several good suggestions. It is as follows:

“All stables, barns and other places wherein horses or cattle are kept, shall be kept in a clean and sanitary condition. All accumulations of manure shall be stored in such places and be removed with such frequency and in such manner as to prevent offensive and noxious odors. Not more than two loads of horse or cow manure shall be allowed to accumulate on any premises within the city limits and no piles of manure shall be allowed to accumulate in any position or manner whereby they shall become breeding places of flies or whereby any leachings therefrom may pass into any stream or water course. Any violation of this ordinance shall subject the offending party to a penalty of not more than $50 for each offense and for each day’s continuance or repetition of the offense.

“No manure or stable refuse shall be deposited within any building or the cellar thereof unless said receptacle shall be enclosed by eight-inch brick, cement or concrete walls, all of which shall be waterproofed on sides and have cement waterproof floors, and connected with public sewers by suitable tile pipes properly trapped and with suitable fall to carry off all liquid, said outlet to be covered with fine grating or screen, top of said pit or receptacle to be covered with a tight cover and to have a brick, cement, concrete or galvanized iron flue, at least eight inches in diameter, and to be air-tight and to extend to the top or cover of said receptacle or pit up to and through the roof, and at least three feet above said roof and above the roof of any adjoining buildings, access to said pit to be by door hung on suitable hinges and to be kept closed and fastened except when refuse is being deposited in or removed from the same; in no case shall said receptacle be constructed within any building where no connection can be made with public sewers. All receptacles for manure or stable refuse that are constructed outside of any building shall be commenced at least twelve inches below the lowest grade of the land adjoining same and shall be waterproof on both sides and covered with suitable cover properly hinged and to be kept closed except when depositing therein or removing manure or refuse therefrom; the sides of said pit may be constructed of matched plank and as directed by the health officer; all of the above construction must be so done as to make same inaccessible to flies.”

Exceptional regulations have been noted in the following cities: Aberdeen, Washington, does not allow a bin or receptacle to be built nearer to an adjoining house than 25 feet. Manure for agricultural or garden purposes must be thoroughly mixed and covered with soil so as not to attract flies. Bayonne, New Jersey, will not allow any pit nearer than 10 feet to the line of any adjoining lot, alley or public place. Truck gardeners must secure a permit to store manure, and the waste cannot be carted through the streets between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. without a permit. Manure cannot be unloaded, discharged or put upon or along the line of any railroad (except in transit), street or highway. A permit must be secured for cars containing manure to remain on or stand on or along any railroad, street or highway. In Cincinnati disinfectants must be used about those portions of the floor where manure and urine habitually fall or are maintained. Manure stacked for fertilizer on a truck farm must be at least 50 feet from any dwelling and shall be stored in a closed bin or screened receptacle in order to prevent access of flies thereto.

Los Angeles requires a permit from its Health Commissioner for piling manure for fertilization, the permit to designate the place and amount that may be kept. Manure cannot be scattered even if covered in Mankato, Minnesota, except for fertilization or the “protection of plants, shrubs, houses or buildings in winter months.”

North Yakima, Washington, requires that manure used as fertilizer from May 15 to October 15 must be mixed and covered with soil. It cannot be used as grading.

In Oyster Bay, New York, no manure is allowed to be brought in or unloaded or placed on any dock or landing from June 1 to September 1. All manure brought into town must be entirely removed by June 15. All brought in by rail must be unloaded within 250 feet of any station. Several cities provide that all collections or accumulations of any hennery park, stable refuse or manure in or about any hennery park, barn, stable, yard or appurtenance thereof must be removed before the same shall become offensive. Dumping of manure in any river, canal, stream or pond is prohibited in Little Falls, New York. Every person keeping a stable for horses, mules, cows or similar animals in Poughkeepsie, New York, must report his name and the location of the stable to the Health Officer.

There is no general uniformity of regulations as to how often manure shall be removed. In some cities the ordinances are specific, in others the refuse must be removed when ordered by the Board of Health, and in many it must be carted away before it becomes offensive. Some of the various regulations follow: Aberdeen, Washington, every 30 days from April 1 to November 1, and oftener if the Health Officer directs; Bayonne, New Jersey, once a week in all cases where the Board of Health by written notice shall require; Chattanooga, Tennessee, once a week; Cincinnati, Ohio, once a day and disposed of to the satisfaction of the Health Department; Des Moines, Iowa, twice weekly from March 15 to December 1 and once a week thereafter; Erie, Pennsylvania, accumulation of only one wagon load from May 1 to October 1 in any private stable, and two loads in any private or livery stable without permission of Board of Health; Greenfield, Mass., where more than four horses are kept it must be removed at least once a month and no more than five cords are allowed on premises at any one time; Los Angeles, California, every ten days when kept in bins and every day otherwise; Mankato, Minnesota, as often as necessary and when ordered by the Board of Health.

Every city and town should regulate at least the care of manure and in congested communities it is imperative that the city either provide a municipal collection or make provisions whereby the refuse can be removed under contract. Any community which fails to do this continues a nuisance and fails to check the breeding of flies and the possible spreading of disease.