Victorian Recycling
Clearly something had to be done when even politicians couldn’t stand the stink! And something was indeed done. Over the next six years under the control of Sir Joseph Bazalgette (my spelling checkers suggests ‘Baguette’ for his name!) a vast underground sewage system was installed. It was so well designed and built that most of it is still in use today – 160 years later. That was not the end of the (faecal) matter though. Excellent as the sewers were, there were now other problems. Because the sewers were confined places – tunnels – there was a build up of explosive methane gas, generated by the waste. This problem had an even more ingenious solution, thought up by inventor Joseph Webb. He designed a special street lamp which used the methane gas as fuel! Not only a less explosive atmosphere, but also street lighting at no cost. I think Webb should be considered to be a pioneer of recycling! That’s not quite the end of the story – there were problems with the lamp running out of methane and going out, but that was resolved by mixing in a little town gas to keep the flame alight. And best of all – one of these lights is still running! It’s in Carting Lane, just off The Strand (in London, obviously). So, if you happen to be visiting London, it’s maybe something worth a side trip to see it...
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