Excerpt from Trades Waste: Its Treatment and Utilisation; With Special Reference to the Prevention of Rivers Pollution; A Handbook for Borough Engineers, Surveyors, Architects and Analysts

It is believed that if the result of the working of these two Committees could be ascertained, it would show that they have caused a capital outlay to be made on works within their jurisdiction to an amount considerably exceeding the interest and sinking fund of which may be calculated with sufficient accuracy for the purpose of this statement at 5 per cent. Upon the total, making a dead yearly sum of and, in addition to this, the Manufacturers have had to expend on their own account a large capital outlay in respect of their works and factories, besides incurring a heavy annual expenditure for their working and maintenance.

The statement that the law was, until the coming into force of the Local Government Act of 1888, administered by the various Local Sanitary Authorities, is not strictly correct; in fact, the cause of much of the burden suddenly put upon manufacturers in 1888 was the failure of the Local Sanitary Authorities to administer the Rivers Pollution (prevention) Act, which had really been on the Statute Book for a period of twelve years prior to that date. There was just as much reason for the administration of the Act of 187 6 before the Local Government Board Act of 1888 as there is to-day.

The trouble began about thirty or forty years ago, very soon after the great impetus given to British industry by the development of the steam engine, railways, and ocean-going steamers.

When, after the Great Exhibition in 1851, the nation had completed its exultation over the great strides made in Science and Art, and when it had finished comparing the exports, imports, revenue, population, and capital invested in the year 1830 with those of the year 1850, it was observed that increased production meant increase in objectionable waste products, and that the same result occurred from an increase in population.

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