There have been a lot of "remember when?" etc, questions lately, but I don't recall anyone mentioning incinerators. The house I grew up in had an incinerator in the back yare. It was made of bricks and had a metal door to empty in the trash and a chimney. A "garbage man" picked up the garbage once a week and an "ash man" picked up the ashes from the incinerator every so often. Ashes were kept in an ash can. Then at one point incinerators were banned in Los Angeles -mid-50s I think, and we had another collector pick up what we used to burn.
2007-08-27 10:47:59 · 12 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Cultures & Groups ➔ Senior Citizens
Absolutely, burning the household trash was one of my "chores" as a child in the 50's, Culver City, Ca.
They were outlawed do to smog laws which were enacted in the 50's.
2007-08-28 14:57:40 · answer #1 · answered by clarklhc 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Every one of the apartment buildings in our area of Brooklyn had an incinerator built right into the building. The trash went down a chute into the belly of the beast and it was set alight in the evening.
Now that pollution controls have been invented, the device may make a comeback, with the heat generated being diverted into use as a heating system for downtown areas.
Landfills are quickly becoming filled up. I went through a small town in northern Ohio a few years ago. They had been accepting trash from New York City and piling it up. In a few years they will have an honest-to-god mountain and they plan on building ski lifts and a lodge for the winter sports crowd.
2007-08-27 18:05:25 · answer #2 · answered by desertviking_00 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
On the upper East Coast we used 55 gallon drums with a heavy screen on top. We used the ashes on the icy walkways-Guess that wasn't a problem in LA
2007-08-28 03:22:12 · answer #3 · answered by slvrfox14 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Los Angeles here. Got one next to the driveway. The previous owner of the house used it. The ashes didn't get picked up -- he'd dump them in the yard. When I was a kid, we were always digging up rusty cans and bits of glass.
2007-08-27 18:20:16 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
I do. There was an apartment building next to our duplex and believe it or not, I would go through the trash to find soda bottles to cash in. Imagine all those germs and I never got sick!!
I was probably 8 or 9 at the time.
2007-08-27 18:48:32 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Oh yes in our neighborhood you could only light them on wednesdays between 7:00am and 1:00pm. We had one neighbor whos only lot in life was to try and spot smoke coming out of someones yard Thursday through Tuesday. She was called Mrs Smoky bear. We saw alot of firetrucks for three blocks around for 16 years.
We had to get rid of our own ashes.
2007-08-27 22:43:59 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Still used them in El Monte in 58. That was the last year though. One of the better childhood chores, burning trash.
2007-08-27 20:02:54 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I remember the elementary school I attended had incinerators but we didn't have one at home.
2007-08-27 18:04:27 · answer #8 · answered by ncgirl 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
No, I don't remember those. Interesting tough. I've never heard my parents speak of them either. I'll HAVE to ask now.
2007-08-27 18:04:16 · answer #9 · answered by gabeymac♥ 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
55 gal oil drum with screen -- outback with the privy
2007-08-28 18:08:37 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋