'The incineration of refuse is beautiful': Torquay and the introduction of municipal refuse destructors

Urban History

Volumn 34, Issue 2, 2007, Pages 255-277

  Clark, J F M ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF ST ANDREWS   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

INCINERATION; REFUSE;

EID: 34347397384     PISSN: 09639268     EISSN: 14698706     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1017/S0963926807004634     Document Type: Article

References (152)

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13. and S. Barles, 'A metabolic approach to the city: Nineteenth- and twentieth-century Paris', in Schott, Luckin and Massard-Guilbaud (eds.), Resources of the City, 28-47.
14. B. Luckin, 'Pollution in the city, in M. Daunton (ed.), The Cambridge Urban History of Britain, vol. III: 1840-1950 (Cambridge, 2000), 207-28.
15. R.M. Hartwell, 'The service revolution: The growth of services in modern economy', in C.M. Cipolla (ed.), The Fontana Economic History of Europe: The Industrial Revolution (London, 1973), 358-96;
16. H. Perkin, The Rise of Professional Society: England since 1880 (London, 1989);
17. E. Armstrong, M.C. Robinson and S.M. Hoy (eds.), History of Public Works in the United States 1776-1976 (Chicago, 1976).
18. By the end of the nineteenth century, municipal household waste was defined as 'waste material which has to be dealt with by the public authorities; it then consists of ash-bin rubbish from the houses, shops, and market refuse, road sweepings, and excremental matter'. See E.C.S. Moore, Sanitary Engineering (London, 1898), 529.
19. W.P. McGowan, 'American wasteland: A history of America's garbage industry, 1880-1989', Business and Economic History, 24 (1995), 155-63 (159).
20. See J. Scanlan, On Garbage (London, 2005).
21. See J.C. Wylie, The Wastes of Civilization (London, 1959), 23;
22. and M. Gandy, Recycling and the Politics of Urban Waste (London, 1994).
23. J.H. Maxwell, The Removal and Disposal of Town Refuse (London, 1898), 68;
24. and W.F. Goodrich, The Economic Disposal of Town's Refuse (London, 1901), 6.
25. Dumping of refuse at sea was a violation of the federal Marine Protection Act of 1888. See B. Miller, Fat of the Land: Garbage in New York, the Last Two Hundred Years (New York and London, 2000), 69.
26. Maxwell, Removal and Disposal of Town Refuse, 71-3;
27. and Goodrich, Economic Disposal of Town's Refuse, 16-17.
28. H. Mayhew, London Labour and London Poor (1851-52; repr. London, 1985), 230.
29. D.J. Ross quoted in 'Refuse disposal problems, Municipal Journal, 29 Apr. 1904, 346.
30. Goodrich, Economic Disposal of Town's Refuse, 8, 21.
31. 'London's disgrace: Women sorters in Lambeth', Municipal Journal, 9 Sep. 1904, 726.
32. This did not, of course, preclude a concern for waste. G. Pinchot and G.P. Marsh promoted the reduction and reuse of post-production waste to conserve natural resources. They displayed less interest in post-consumption waste. See D.J. Zarin, 'Searching for pennies in piles of trash: Municipal refuse utilization in the United States, 1870-1930', Environmental Review, 11 (1987), 207-22 (208-10).
33. In addition, see: S.P. Hays, Conservation and the Gospel of Efficiency: The Progressive Conservation Movement, 1880-1920 (Pittsburg, 1959);
34. and M.V. Melosi, Garbage in the Cities: Refuse, Reform and the Environment, 1880-1980 (College Station, TX, 1981), 32, 182, 189.
35. Melosi, Garbage in the Cities, 24-5.
36. See, for instance, W. King, 'How high is too high? Disposing of dung in seventeenth-century Prescot', Sixteenth Century Journal, 23 (1992), 442-57;
37. and Wylie, Wastes of Civilization, 19-26.
38. J. Sheail, 'Town wastes, agricultural sustainability and Victorian sewage', Urban History, 23 (1996), 189-209;
39. N. Goddard, '19th-century recycling: The Victorians and the agricultural utilization of sewage', History Today, 31 (1981), 32-6;
40. and N. Goddard, '"A mine of wealth"? The Victorians and the agricultural value of sewage', Journal of Historical Geography, 22 (1996), 274-90.
41. Wylie, Wastes of Civilization, 51.
42. G. Reid, Practical Sanitation: A Handbook for Sanitary Inspectors and Others Interested in Sanitation, 7th rev. edn (London, 1900), 160-7;
43. L. Herbert, The History of the Institute of Wastes Management, 1898-1998 (Warwick, 1998), 11, 21-2.
44. Appendix to First Report of the Commissioners for Enquiring into the State of Large Towns and Populous Districts (1844; repr. Dublin, 1970), 6-11.
45. A.S. Wohl, Endangered Lives: Public Health in Victorian Britain (London, 1983), 142-204.
46. Moore, Sanitary Engineering, 530.
47. Maxwell, Removal and Disposal of Town Refuse, 86-7.
48. D.G. Tucker, 'Refuse destructors and their use for generating electricity: A century of development', Industrial Archaeology Review 2 (1977), 5.
49. Goodrich, Economic Disposal of Town's Refuse, 19, 7, 8, 18;
50. and T. Codrington, Report on the Destruction of Town Refuse (London, 1888), 41.
51. The refuse destructor: A modern necessity', The Sanitary Record and Journal of Sanitary and Municipal Engineering, 17 Nov. 1899, 440.
52. Maxwell, Removal and Disposal of Town Refuse, 65.
53. See F. Kafka, 'In the penal colony [1914]', in C. Fadiman (ed.), The World of the Short Story: A Twentieth Century Collection (Boston, 1986), 51-71.
54. Codrington, Report on the Destruction of Town Refuse, 13. In addition, see Goodrich, Economic Disposal of Town's Refuse, 104-5.
55. Goodrich, Economic Disposal of Town's Refuse, 110.
56. See D.N. Pellow, Garbage Wars: The Struggle for Environmental Justice in Chicago (Cambridge, MA, 2002).
57. Codrington, Report on the Destruction of Town Refuse, 29.
58. J.E. Cooney, 'The disposal of town refuse - cremation or utilisation', The Practitioner, 47 (1891), 304, repeats the same example of close proximity.
59. E. R. Matthews, Refuse Disposal: A Practical Manual (n.p., 1915), 37.
60. For an explicit discussion of this point, see P. Stallybrass and A. White, The Politics and Poetics of Transgression (Ithaca, NY, 1986), especially 125-48.
61. 'Refuse and light', Engineering, 2 Jul. 1897, 19-20 (19).
62. For similar rhetoric in relation to New York's street cleansing department, see D.E. Burnstein, 'Progressivism and the urban crisis: The New York City garbage workers'strike of 1907', Journal of Urban History, 16 (1990), 386-423 (400-1).
63. A.W. Jephson, 'A cry from North Lambeth', Times, 4 Aug. 1887, 11.
64. Codrington, Report on the Destruction of Town Refuse, 7-8;
65. and Goodrich, Economic Disposal of Town's Refuse, 100.
66. Goodrich, Economic Disposal of Town's Refuse, 112, 14.
67. Cooney, 'The disposal of town refuse', 305-6.
68. 'Refuse disposal problems', 346.
69. Melosi, Garbage in the Cities, 170-2.
70. R.J. Morris, 'Urbanization', in J. Langton and R.J. Morris (eds.), Atlas of Industrializing Britain 1780-1914 (London, 1986), 164.
71. 'The destructor nuisance at Torquay', The Lancet, 1 (25 Jan. 1902), 262.
72. Ibid., 262;
73. 'Torquay's refuse destructor', The Torquay Directory and South Devon Journal, 29 Jan. 1902, 6.
74. 'The destructor nuisance at Torquay', 263;
75. 'Torquay's refuse destructor', 6.
76. 'Torquay town council. The refuse destructor - Preb Wolfe criticised', The Torquay Times and South Devon Advertiser, 7 Sep. 1900, 2.
77. See 'Torquay boundary question. Proposed inclusion of St Marychurch & Cockington. Local Government Inquiry', The Torquay Times and South Devon Advertiser, 2 Feb. 1900, 2.
78. For Bazalgette's contribution to sanitary engineering, see S. Halliday, The Great Stink of London (London, 1999).
79. 'Torquay town council', The Torquay Directory and South Devon Journal 7 Oct. 1896, 5;
80. 'Torquay town council', ibid., 8 Feb. 1899, 3;
81. and 'The destructor nuisance at Torquay', 262-3.
82. H.S. Watson, Town Scavenging and Refuse Disposal (London, 1911), 34.
83. M.V. Melosi, 'Technology diffusion and refuse disposal: The case of the British destructor', in J.A. Tarr and G. Dupuy (eds.), Technology and the Rise of the Networked City in Europe and America (Philadelphia, 1988), 211.
84. Torquay continued to tip rubbish at the Windmill Hill site until 1897, and formally ended its tenancy and all liability in May 1899.
85. See: 'Torquay boundary question, 2;
86. and 'Town council meeting, Wed 2 May 1899. End of refuse tip', The Torquay Directory and South Devon Journal, 3 May 1899.
87. Torquay Borough Council Minutes, Devon Record Office, TUDCM R4562A add 2/ TC10, 5 Jun. 1895, 378.
88. TUDCM R4562A add 2/TC10, 7 Jul. 1896, 6 Oct. 1896, and 1 Dec. 1896, 656, 695,20.
89. TUDCMR4562A add 2/TC10,6 Apr. 1897,6 Jul. 1897,77, 111. For Local Government Board loans, see C. Bellamy, Administering Central-Local Relations, 1871-1919: The Local Government Board in its Fiscal and Cultural Context (Manchester, 1988), 79-107. See especially 93-4 for the context of the 1890s.
90. H.A. Garrett, 'Refuse disposal', Engineering, 18 Aug. 1899, 215-16.
91. 'Lord Kelvin on refuse destruction', Times, 31 Mar. 1899, 7.
92. See Wohl, Endangered Lives, 206.
93. Garrett, 'Refuse disposal', 216.
94. Goodrich, Economic Disposal of Town's Refuse, 29-33.
95. Matthews, Refuse Disposal, 31-3.
96. M.B. Dongosh, 'Refuse disposal: To the editor of Engineering, Engineering, 25 Aug. 1899, 243;
97. and Goodrich, Economic Disposal of Town's Refuse, 65-7.
98. 'The designing and construction of refuse destructors', The Sanitary Record, 25 Nov. 1898,
99. F. Watson, 'Dust destruction: An expert's view, Municipal Journal, 8 Apr. 1904, 284;
100. and Melosi, 'Technology diffusion and refuse disposal', 210.
101. Town council meeting, The Torquay Directory and South Devon Journal 3 Oct. 1900, 5.
102. 'The destructor nuisance at Torquay, The Lancet, 1 (1 Feb. 1902),335-6.
103. Codrington, Report on the Destruction of Town Refuse, 38-47 (38).
104. 'Town council meeting, Tuesday 2 October 1900', The Torquay Directory and South Devon Journal, 3 Oct. 1900, 5.
105. 'Torquay town council. The refuse destructor - Preb. Wolfe criticised, 2. Gas cooking had reached the working classes by the 1890s. See P. Thorsheim, 'The paradox of smokeless fuels: Gas, coke and the environment in Britain, 1813-1949, Environment and History, 8 (2002),395.
106. D. Stradling and P. Thorsheim, 'The smoke of great cities: British and American efforts to control air pollution, 1860-1914', Environmental History, 4 (1999), 8.
107. The destructor nuisance at Torquay, The Lancet, 1 (25 Jan. 1902), 263.
108. See 'Torquay garden refuse, The Torquay Directory and South Devon Journal, 9 Jan. 1901;
109. Torquay Borough Council Minutes, TBCM R4582 A/TC2,13 Dec. 1900.
110. See, for instance: TUDCM R4562A add 2/TC10, 3 Oct. 1899; TBCM R4582 A/ TC1, 14 Nov. 1899.
111. See 'Torquay boundary question, 2, 8. Goodrich, Economic Disposal of Town's Refuse, 4, predicted that the 'time must surely come when, in choosing a health-resort, the choice will fall on sanitary health-resorts - where sewage is dealt with in a modern manner and refuse destroyed by fire.
112. See 'Torquay in the nineteenth century. Notable events in the century, The Torquay Directory and South Devon Journal, 9 Jan. 1901, 3.
113. Torquay Borough Council Minutes, TBCM R4582 A/TC2, 14 Feb. 1901.
114. TUDCM R4562A add 2/TC10, 6 Oct. 1896,5 Jan. 1897,695, 27.
115. 'Torquay town council', The Torquay Directory and South Devon Journal 7 Oct. 1896, 5.
116. An Uptonite, 'Late correspondence. The refuse destructor, The Torquay Directory and South Devon Journal, 14 Oct. 1896, 5.
117. Another Uptonite, 'Correspondence. The refuse destructor, The Torquay Directory and South Devon Journal, 21 Oct. 1896, 3.
118. For interesting parallels with gasworks, see Thorsheim, 'The paradox of smokeless fuels', 386-90.
119. 'The destructor nuisance at Torquay, 335-6;
120. 'Torquay town council', The Torquay Directory and South Devon Journal 4 Jun. 1902, 5;
121. and H. Humphreys, 'Correspondence. The refuse destructor', ibid., 11 Jun. 1902, 3.
122. Torquay Borough Council Minutes, TBCM R4582A/TC1, 12 Jul. 1900.
123. Truth, 'Letters, The Torquay Times and South Devon Advertiser, 3 Jul. 1900, p. 3.
124. For Winter's participation, see TBCM R4582A/TC1, 16 Aug. 1900;
125. and see S. Grose MD, 'Letters. The refuse destructor, The Torquay Times and South Devon Advertiser, 27 Jul. 1900, p. 3.
126. Stradling and Thorsheim, 'The smoke of great cities, 19.
127. Should the cobbler stick to his last?, Chemical Trade Journal, 30 (22 Feb. 1902), 171-2.
128. M. Mills, 'Electricity from household waste in Edwardian Woolwich, Bygone Kent, 21 (2000), 541.
129. 'Town council. The refuse destructor, The Torquay Directory and South Devon Journal, 5 Sep. 1900,5;
130. and TBCM R4582A/TC1, 11 Oct. 1900.
131. Stradling and Thorsheim, 'The smoke of great cities, 18.
132. Thorsheim, 'The paradox of smokeless fuels', 394.
133. Grose, 'Letters, 3.
134. See Wohl, Endangered Lives, 205-32.
135. See 'Town council meeting, 7 Jan. 1902', The Torquay Directory and South Devon Journal, 8 Jan. 1902, 5;
136. TBCM R4582 A/TC3, 10Apr. 1902, 15 May 1902;
137. and Town council meeting, 3 June 1902', The Torquay Directory and South Devon Journal, 4 Jun. 1902, 5.
138. See Wohl, Endangered Lives, 226.
139. Humphreys, 'The refuse destructor, 3.
140. The destructor nuisance at Torquay, The Lancet, 1 (8 Feb. 1902), 404;
141. and 'Town council meeting', The Torquay Directory and South Devon Journal, 3 Oct. 1900, 5. When the special sub-committee first formulated its eight-point plan for a destructor, the following was resolved: 'That the Chimney shaft should be carried to a height of not less than 220 feet, so that its top may be at least 25 feet above any hill surrounding the suggested site. This recommendation is made in order to reduce any possible complaint being made by owners and occupiers of the surrounding property.
142. See TUDCM R4562A add 2/TC10, 5 Jun. 1894.
143. J.A. Tarr, The Search for the Ultimate Sink: Urban Pollution in Historical Perspective (Akron, 1996), part III.
144. In addition, see S. Mosley, The Chimney of the World: A History of Smoke Pollution in Victorian and Edwardian Manchester (Cambridge, 2001).
145. Quoted in 'The destructor nuisance at Torquay, The Lancet, 2 (12 Jul. 1902), 92.
146. 'Torquay in the nineteenth century, 3.
147. TBCM R4582A/TC4,5, 10 Sep. 1903 and 14 Jan. 1904.
148. TBCM R4582A/TC2,13 Dec. 1900.
149. See M. Melosi, 'Path dependence and urban history: Is a marriage possible?, in Schott, Luckin and Massard-Guilbaud (eds.), Resources of the City, 262-75;
150. and McGowan, American wasteland.
151. T. Cooper, 'Challenging the refuse revolution: War, waste and the rediscovery of recycling, Historical Research (forthcoming, 2007).
152. See 'Review launched to tackle waste, BBC News: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-1/hi/sci/tech/4708758.stm (accessed 17 Feb. 2006).