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Author Topic: Waste disposal when we were young  (Read 4198 times)

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Varche

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Waste disposal when we were young
« on: 05 October 2018, 14:05:23 »

I watched a UK programme on waste disposal a few days ago. Quite an eye opener.

I was impressed by the modern approach for the last twenty years where in effect the waste is sealed in and landscaped. Thinking back to my youth when there wasn't rural waste collection, every hamlet had a site where stuff could be lobbed. These were often the heads of valleys - the part where you could get around and once filled in and overgrown would look as though it was clean land. later (about fifty years ago) a local quarry ceased production and was used as landflll. It was quite big and even then I wondered about the "mig" that used to flow out of it into the local beck after rain. In those days little thought was given to waste disposal.
There was another site (just north of Wykeham village) which was a designated rubbish site. I got rid of an A35 minus engine, gearbox there. It is still there somewhere under the woodland that is there now.

When I was very young my mum and dad had a small farm.  I may have recounted the story of my dad legally buying arsenic to , ostensibly poison worms, but in reality to poison foxes that were killing their fowl regularly. He bought that from Boots in Scarborough and said there was enough left over to kill everyone in Scarborough! He has no idea what he did with it-  "probably thrown out".


So I have a suspicion that the Uk is riddled with time bombs of unknown waste buried for future generations to find.  The programme on TV showed an old dump on the banks of the Thames (I think) exposed to the vagaries of the elements like high tides.


Anyone else got any waste stories or similar suspicions? 
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Lizzie Zoom

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Re: Waste disposal when we were young
« Reply #2 on: 05 October 2018, 16:26:15 »

When we were young dust carts were a fraction of the size of them today.  Why? ; because product was sold loose in paper bags or paper wrappings, and the glass jars were filled with yummy product, but once finished with could be sold for recycling at 1d each!

Not a plastic wrapping in sight, and even cans of beans etc were limited and did not have the product range of today.  Even the glass pop bottles were recycled for the deposit back, or once more sold by us kids at 1d each for recycling. Paper, like newspapers, were often used in the toilet or burnt as fire lighters for our open coal fires, which also disposed of other easily destroyed product.

We now live in a chuck away, plastic and packaging dominated, society that now MUST change.  Did anyone see that BBC programme Drowning in Plastic?  My generation should feel very ashamed as WE have let this happen!  Hopefully the next ruling generations will be a lot better at recycling and ridding ourselves of plastic for everything than we have been!

As for the history of rubbish dumps, the Victorian ones are now fascinating for producing classic fish paste (ceramic) jars and cod top bottles, let alone other interesting items.  No plastic and these dumps are tiny compared to the amount of 'dumps' or disposal facilities we need now. ;)

« Last Edit: 05 October 2018, 16:27:56 by Lizzie Zoom »
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Doctor Gollum

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Re: Waste disposal when we were young
« Reply #3 on: 05 October 2018, 16:34:05 »

Dustcarts have always been their current size in my lifetime. Only change is the fads...

We went from traditional ones to shiny fancy sideloader ones and back to traditional ones... And fortnightly collections ::)

If Comrade Lady bitsybubbles gets in at the next opportunity, we will be back to three collections a year, just like the '70s :-X

Ever wondered as you get older why the more things change, the more that they remain the same :-\
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LC0112G

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Re: Waste disposal when we were young
« Reply #4 on: 05 October 2018, 16:34:33 »

There is a greater density of gold and silver in council tips than there is in most gold mines. It comes from all the electrical gear that has been thrown away in the past 20 years - computers, 'phones, TV's etc. If the price of gold/sliver rises then it becomes economic to 'mine' in tips!
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Lizzie Zoom

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Re: Waste disposal when we were young
« Reply #5 on: 05 October 2018, 16:39:21 »

Dustcarts have always been their current size in my lifetime. Only change is the fads...

We went from traditional ones to shiny fancy sideloader ones and back to traditional ones... And fortnightly collections ::)

If Comrade Lady bitsybubbles gets in at the next opportunity, we will be back to three collections a year, just like the '70s :-X

Ever wondered as you get older why the more things change, the more that they remain the same :-\

You are obviously very young DG!! :D :D ;)

Yes, in the 1950's they were a small lorry with 3 openings, with shutters, on each side of a metal round topped unit that sat where the bed of a flat bed truck would be. Tonnage I reckon was about 1.5 tonnes.  That is what they were in Tunbridge Wells at least! :D :D

The name "dustcart" also gives a clue as to what they mainly collected; the waste from the coal fires, and not much of anything else ;)
« Last Edit: 05 October 2018, 16:42:38 by Lizzie Zoom »
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Sir Tigger KC

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Re: Waste disposal when we were young
« Reply #6 on: 05 October 2018, 16:50:06 »

There is a greater density of gold and silver in council tips than there is in most gold mines. It comes from all the electrical gear that has been thrown away in the past 20 years - computers, 'phones, TV's etc. If the price of gold/sliver rises then it becomes economic to 'mine' in tips!

Go for a walk on a certain stretch of beach at low tide here and there is all sorts where the old town dump has ended up on the cliff top due to erosion and it's all ending up on the beach!  ::)

It's mostly metals though, old engine blocks, axles etc  as it's probably 30-40 years since the dump closed and I can remember a permanent fire burning there where they burnt all the burnables.  :)
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Varche

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Re: Waste disposal when we were young
« Reply #7 on: 05 October 2018, 17:10:45 »

Dustcarts have always been their current size in my lifetime. Only change is the fads...

We went from traditional ones to shiny fancy sideloader ones and back to traditional ones... And fortnightly collections ::)

If Comrade Lady bitsybubbles gets in at the next opportunity, we will be back to three collections a year, just like the '70s :-X

Ever wondered as you get older why the more things change, the more that they remain the same :-\

You are obviously very young DG!! :D :D ;)

Yes, in the 1950's they were a small lorry with 3 openings, with shutters, on each side of a metal round topped unit that sat where the bed of a flat bed truck would be. Tonnage I reckon was about 1.5 tonnes.  That is what they were in Tunbridge Wells at least! :D :D

The name "dustcart" also gives a clue as to what they mainly collected; the waste from the coal fires, and not much of anything else ;)

I remember seeing operational small curve top dustcarts in Hucknall in the mid seventies
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ronnyd

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Re: Waste disposal when we were young
« Reply #8 on: 05 October 2018, 20:15:36 »

Used to go down to our local dump, (which was an old chalk pit) with our airguns and shoot the rats. Great fun and a service to the village too. ;)
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Re: Waste disposal when we were young
« Reply #9 on: 05 October 2018, 22:19:56 »

When I was young the bin man was invariably a wiry Glaswegian stinking of booze with a woodbine between his lips. He would throw the bin over his shoulder before dumping the contents into a dustcart like the one described by Lizzie.
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Re: Waste disposal when we were young
« Reply #10 on: 05 October 2018, 22:26:47 »

The term dustman was used back  then.
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Sir Tigger KC

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Re: Waste disposal when we were young
« Reply #11 on: 06 October 2018, 00:39:36 »

And they used to ride on the back of the dustcart.  :)
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scimmy_man

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Re: Waste disposal when we were young
« Reply #12 on: 06 October 2018, 09:32:05 »

in cor blimey trousers?
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Re: Waste disposal when we were young
« Reply #13 on: 06 October 2018, 10:18:37 »

in cor blimey trousers?


.....and of course they all lived in a council flat. :)
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Re: Waste disposal when we were young
« Reply #14 on: 06 October 2018, 14:13:04 »

When I was young the bin man was invariably a wiry Glaswegian stinking of booze with a woodbine between his lips. He would throw the bin over his shoulder before dumping the contents into a dustcart like the one described by Lizzie.
And came round the back to collect said metal dustbin, and return it afterwards, in all weathers. Unlike the lazy sods they have now, who can't even be arsed to but the bins on the pavement.  They seem to be little more than little hitler rubbish police.
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