Economic waste

“ It will have to forget a good deal of what it has assimilated in connection with the disposal of the contents of the ash-barrel. A change-over from the old to the new method must inevitably occupy time, especially as those two dragging chains which always retard the march of progress—prejudice and conservatism—have first to be released. Nevertheless, as destruction of domestic waste by fire superseded dumping upon open land, so must incineration, in turn, give way to the latest demands of science and the immutable economic law. ”

“ In the first place it enables material on site—waste—to be turned to economic account, and the term waste in this instance is extremely elastic. There is no need to disfigure the countryside with yawning craters in the form of pits for the excavation of the special clay suited to the making of bricks. Again we must not forget that by the employment of the conventional building materials a demand is made upon transport, which to-day is as acute as the scarcity of houses. ”

“ This state of affairs offers another interesting illustration of the fact that extremely cheap living promotes waste. We need only to recall the experience of the war to assure ourselves upon this point. Under the system of price control, coupled with abnormally high rates, fish purchases had to be conducted by the trade with extreme caution to obviate financial losses, while, similarly, the consumer was compelled to be more economic and less fastidious in his, or her, tastes. ”

“ Waste, that destroys machinery, permits bridges to go into decay, destroys roads, lets grain rot in its storehouses, burns up cities, exhausts the reserves of capital, is direful; but use, which is the means of setting millions of busy hands to work, is another thing. I know the economists say that capital alone determines the fact of production, demand merely governing the direction it shall take; but is it not clear that, if we reduce consumption to its minimum, production will shrivel up? ”

“ The necessity to conserve our industrial resources, which is so pronounced to-day, is acting as a powerful stimulant to inventive effort. The mere circumstance that approved apparatus exist for the reclamation of wastes and are readily available to those of a thrifty or enterprising turn of mind no longer suffices to meet the situation. In the past we have been content to practise waste recovery along what may be described as satisfactory lines, but satisfactory only in so far as they represented an attempt to turn refuse to commercial account. ”

“ These complex issues being satisfactorily settled the exploitation of the erstwhile waste, or rubbish, is energetically pursued. It has now become a potentially valuable by-product, and, accordingly, must be worked for all it is worth. ”

“ The financial issue is surveyed from every possible angle—capital outlay, fuel consumption, simplicity of operation, maintenance charges, depreciation, renewals, and labour. Any one of these several factors may be sufficient to cause the refusal of an advocated process, while should they be experienced cumulatively then the likelihood of the process being adopted is extremely remote. Waste recovery is such a sensitive range of endeavour as to prevent all consideration along philanthropic lines. ”

“ The competition between the various nations in this manufacturing field is excitingly keen. It must not be forgotten that, in this industry, waste plays a very prominent part as a raw material. It may be tins rescued from the domestic dust-bin, turnings from the lathe, a worn-out locomotive boiler, or the battered hulk of a steamship snatched from the jaws of the hungry seas through the ingenuity of the salvage engineer.
In the handling of scrap and junk the designing engineer has been strikingly ingenious, resourceful, and free with his expressions of resource. ”

“ On the other hand, in the large factory, the accumulations being of distinct magnitude, segregation and careful retention are observed to facilitate ready sale, while arrangements are even completed for the periodical clearance of the refuse at mutually satisfactory if not prevailing market prices. Whether the waste ever commands its real intrinsic value is a matter of opinion, because we have never been persuaded to regard the residue disposal problem in the strict commercial sense. ”

“ Still, even this achievement should not dissuade us from continuing to exploit the waste dust recovered from our blast-furnaces. Immense quantities of the essential material are forthcoming, the potash content of which varies from 3 to 13 per cent. As output increases it should be capable of recovery at a decreasing figure and at one which should enable the indispensable product to be placed upon the market at a competitive figure. ”

“ It may not seem a savoury occupation to rake over the repulsive assorted contents of the household dust-bin, but it serves to swell, to an appreciable degree, the streams of raw materials flowing into the insatiable maws of industry. What is left after these industrious toilers have completed their work finds its way to the dust-destructor to assist in the raising of steam to drive engines and generators for the supply of electricity.
The diligent exploitation of waste exercises a far-reaching influence upon the wealth of nations. ”

“ Consumers pay high freight rates and the railroads are so overcrowded that they are unable to care for all the business, while the rivers, the cheapest of all carriers, flow idly to the sea.
We have seen how one-fourth of the coal is left in the mines, and how small a part of that which is mined is actually turned into heat, how gas is allowed to escape unchecked into the air. And greatest and most serious of all, the useless waste of human life and health. ”

“ We talk glibly of exploiting waste, but how many products entering intimately into our everyday life are being passed through the mill of reclamation? A little reflection will speedily exhaust the list. If we look around we can satisfy ourselves how much and what a variety of substances are still being permitted to run to utter loss. We have not yet found a use for spent matches, or a means of retipping those which have been scarcely lighted, despite the fact that this indispensable attribute to modern civilization has increased from 300 to 800 per cent. ”

“ Until such time as wastes become so recognized the uncertainty of supply must obtain, because it is the very ignorance of the subject which contributes to the loss of such material through fire and other equally destructive measures with its appalling loss of wealth. ”

“ All matter, irrespective of its character, which is capable of being considered as a raw material, must command a market value. It may be high, or it may be low, but the fact remains unchallenged that it possesses a certain intrinsic worth. Refuse, which can be worked into something useful, is just as much raw material as a shipload of ore, or a consignment of gold. It is its mere classification as waste which imperils its commercial significance. This is demonstrated by the sudden importance and value it instantly commands when it becomes labelled, not “waste,” but a by-product. ”

“ The cheapness, fertility, and quantity of our waste lands, offer such powerful inducements to cultivation, that our countrymen are constantly engaging in it. I would not check this disposition, by hard terms in the sale of it. Let it be easily accessible to all who wish to acquire it. But I would countervail this predilection, by presenting to capital and labor motives for employment in other branches of industry. Nothing is more uncertain than the pursuit of agriculture, when we mainly rely upon foreign markets for the sale of its surplus produce. ”

“ But the mere fact that an adequacy of raw materials cannot be procured merely because one may be disposed to pay fictitious prices, is stimulating interest in the waste issue to a degree which, under conventional conditions, would never have obtained. In times of plenty one does not pause to consider for a moment as to whether it is worth while to devote any time and energy to the exploitation of a certain refuse. ”

“ In the same way we cannot review carefully the history of our industrial advance without being struck with its haphazardness, the gigantic waste with which it has been accomplished, the superfluous duplication of productive facilities, the continual scrapping of still useful equipment, the tremendous mortality in industrial and commercial undertakings, the thousands of dead-end trails into which enterprise has been lured, the profligate waste of natural resources. ”

“ While, to a certain degree, we have become wiser in our generation, and are handling our coal resources and the residuals resulting therefrom with less prodigality, we are still woefully improvident in this field. The degree of waste, despite the reforms introduced, has become accentuated essentially because of the increased magnitude of this industry. The blind adherence to typically British methods and ideas has led to some striking anomalies which to other nations must appear almost incredible. ”

“ Probably this is due largely to the fact that most people think of conservation as a problem for the federal and state governments, mine owners, great lumber companies, owners of vast tracts of land, and large corporations; and have not realized how much the responsibility for the care of our natural resources and the penalty for their waste rest with the whole people, that every one has a part in this work which has been called "the greatest question before the American people." ”

“ But the very magnitude of our natural wealth has made us careless, even prodigal, in its use, and thoughtful men are beginning to realize that with the natural increase of population which is to be expected, we shall, if the present rates of use and waste continue, find ourselves no longer rich, but facing poverty and even actual want. ”

“ There are stalks and ends of plumes from the fabrication of artificial feathers, tangled bundles of loose tatters, fragments of silk in a thousand and one forms, mercerized and natural, and so on. The yield from a single factory or workroom may be trifling, perhaps, while there is the rag-merchant to hand to take delivery of this residue. A firm may readily concede the preservation of its waste until it assumes a formidable bulk to be more troublesome than it is worth, as well as littering the factory or occupying space [Pg 220] which can be put to more valuable account. ”

“ No one could wish to have had our country's development checked in any way. These great results could be obtained only by using the materials that could be had easiest and cheapest, even if it meant great waste in the beginning. ”

“ It does not mean that we shall let our mines of coal and iron lie unused, as the miser does his gold, but that we shall, while taking what we need, leave as little waste in the mine as possible, and shall use what we take in the most economical way. ”

“ It would be a moderate estimate to say that the other constituents of food are of at least equal value with the other constituents of the bone, and to assume $50,000,000 as the money value of the wasted night-soil of the United States every year.
"In another view, the importance of this waste can not be estimated in money. Money values apply, rather, to the products of labor and to the exchange of these products. The waste of fertilizing matter reaches farther than the destruction or exchange of products: it lessens the ability to produce. ”

“ There are even some cases on record where the manufacture of the staple has been abandoned, at all events for a time, because the by-product, the former incubus of the industry has become invested with such far-reaching importance as to demand the concentration of effort upon its production. Waste—by-product—staple: such constitutes the brief evolution of more than one of the world’s leading lines of trading. ”

“ It is a matter for serious discussion as to whether our whole system of waste recovery, in so far as it affects municipalities, should not be overhauled from top to bottom—even superseded. It should be entrusted to private enterprise acting under licence. ”

“ The great subject of the waste by renewal of the population in each generation has an immense variety of aspects; but the essential importance of it is seen when we reflect that about half the labour of the world is swallowed up in this renewal. The burden of production, of rearing, of education, and the waste and loss in the process, exceeds that of any other activity, such as supply of food or shelter, for the adult. Hence any possible saving in this great mass of labour, or reduction of waste, is of the first importance to the individual and the race. ”

“ We grow better produce, and more of it on a certain area, at a much greater primary cost. The condition of profit under the new methods is that waste should be prevented,—waste of time, labour, land and money alike. Waste by vermin must be guarded against, with other kinds of waste: and the more valuable our produce the more it is worth our while to take pains to guard our plants and fruits from their natural enemies. If we do not choose, like our fathers, to leave a large margin for accidents,—meaning vermin,—we must take some pains to protect what we do not intend to give away. ”

“ SUPPLYING INDUSTRIES FROM THE DUST-BIN
During the past few years no effort has been spared to improve the health and well-being of the community. Laws innumerable have been passed compelling the mitigation of nuisances and the removal of menaces to hygiene. These efforts are laudable, but, while they have achieved the desired end, they have been directly responsible for many other shortcomings. The greatest of these is waste, more especially in so far as it affects the household. ”