BOROUGH SANITATION.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2625, 6 October 1909, Page 6

BOROUGH SANITATION.

THE SEALED PAN SYSTEM

The sanitary sealed pan system, which has now been in vogue in Gisborne for a little over a week, is already working satisfactorily, and in. the matter of cleanliness is, as was anticipated, proving a great advancement on the old system. Considerable extra work is entailed by the new system, and -with a view to ascertaining some particulars a “Times” reporter yesterday paid a visit to the depot where the pans, after having been emptied, are treated before being returned to the houses. On arrival at the depot, which is situated on the sandhills near the foot- of Stanley Road, the lids are taken off the pans and put into a large tub divided into two compartments and filled with water. The pans are then ranged along the floor and thoroughly hosed out, after which they are deposited in the second compartment of the tub in the middle of the floor. After being immersed in the water for some time, each pan is taken out and thoroughly scrubbed inside and out with a stiff brush. Set into the concrete floor all round the tub is a steam pipe, pierced at intervals with holes. The pans are upturned over these holes, and the steam. l turned on. with the result that they are thoroughly cleansed. This process completely removes all discoloration, except in the event of ashes having been deposited in the pan. Steam is supplied from a vertical boiler, and the consumption of coal is less than, a hundredweight per day. The plentiful supply of water is obtained from a 1-inch pipe lead on the depot, and the drainage from the washing shed is conveyed sorao distance away towards the sea, flowing into a pit specially prepared for its reception. This drain is fitted with a catch trap for the retention of anyth!no- of a solid nature. Up to the present 1588 pans have been delivered in the borough, and some 240 remain yet to be circulated. Two waggons are in use with the system. Each is drawn, by two _ horses, and each carries 70 pans, making two trips a night on six nights a week. Two hundred and eighty pans are thus dealt with daily, and to give an idea of the amount of work entailed by the system, it might be mentioned that each pan is handled by the waggoners nine times, and no less than fourteen times by the men in the depot! It will be seen from the figures mentioned that when all the pans are distributed, two waggons will be unable to cope with the work, and it will be either necessarv to obtain another waggon or else to only make fortnightly calls at these houses which contain a small number of people. The state of the roads leading to the denot also calls for attention. Stanley* Road, which would be most convenient for the waggons when working the upper end of the town is, with the exception of a short portion that lias been shingled, absolutely impassable, and the waggons have to come right down to Grey Street and proceed via Awapuni Road. The latter road is in little better condition than Stanley Road, being full of huge ruts and holes, and extremely sticky in w r et weather. It has been found necessary to make provision for 1 the attachment of a third horse to the waggons, and even then their work will be by no means light. With the exception of these drawbacks, the system is working most admirably and is undoubtedly’- the best scheme until Gisborne has a complete sewerage system.