Cleansing and Refuse Disposal

Police burghs were given powers to deal with cleansing streets and public areas in the Burgh Police (Scotland) Act 1833.[1] This Act also made it an offence to throw dirt, dung, ashes and rubbish on foot pavements and gave police commissioners power to appoint scavengers and others to sweep and clean streets and remove dung, all of which was to belong to the commissioners. [2] The 1850 Act took this further by requiring police burghs to cleanse streets and also to remove dust, ashes and rubbish from houses and premises and to cleanse cesspools and privies.[3] As before they were allowed to appoint scavengers or appoint contractors to collect this refuse. The police burgh commissioners were able to sell or otherwise dispose of the rubbish collected and use the money raised for burgh purposes.[4] They could also erect public conveniences.[5]

The General Police and Improvement (Scotland) Act, 1862 allowed burghs to appoint an Inspector of Cleansing (who could be the same person as the Burgh Surveyor).[6] Burghs were required to sweep and properly cleanse streets, provide rubbish dumps, employ scavengers and acquire land and buildings to stable horses and equipment to cleanse streets. These provisions were repeated in subsequent legislation including the Burgh Police (Scotland) Act 1892 and the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1947.[7]

Outwith the burghs, responsibilities for scavenging and removal of refuse was given to parish councils in 1894 in conjunction with the relevant district committee of the County Council.[8] In 1929 these responsibilities were transferred along with all other parish responsibilities to the County Councils and from 1947, County Councils were allowed to set up special districts within landward areas of the county for the provision of various services including scavenging.[9]

Under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 responsibilities for cleansing were transferred to district or islands councils and references to an inspector of cleansing were replaced by the generic term ‘proper officer’.[10] Responsibilities for cleansing and refuse collection and disposal were then consolidated by the Environmental Protection Act 1990 which gave district and islands councils a duty to arrange for the collection of waste, including recycling and ensure that roads and lands with public access were kept free of litter and refuse.[11] The Local Government etc (Scotland) Act 1994 amended this to the new unitary councils.[12]

The Environmental Protection Act 1990 required local authorities to maintain public registers of waste disposal licences and related matters, open to the public free of charge (with exceptions for information relating to national security or commercially confidential information). It also required annual reports to be published.[13] A requirement to prepare an integrated waste management plan, open to public inspection, was added by the Local Government in Scotland Act 2003.[14]

Records relating to cleansing and refuse disposal are most often found amongst local authority minutes of the relevant council committee and any surviving records of the Inspector of Cleansing’s department. The names of departments and committees do vary, particularly in the later 20^th century when councils were frequently re-structured, so it is worth checking the catalogues of local authority archives for terms such as sanitation, waste management, waste disposal, environmental services and nuisances. Relevant central government records are held by National Records of Scotland and can usually be found in the Scottish Office Development Department collections (reference codes starting DD). For the records of commercial waste management companies, contact the company.

Compiler: Elspeth Reid (2021)

Related Knowledge Base entries

Food Labelling, Standards & Hygiene

Sanitary Inspection & Environmental Health

Bibliography

Brunton, Deborah, ‘Regulating filth: cleansing in Scottish towns and cities, 1840-1880’ Urban History 42 (3) (Aug 2015) pp. 424-39

Bell, James, and James Paton, Glasgow: Its Municipal Organization and Administration (J. MacLehose and Sons, 1896)

Ferguson, Keith, An introduction to local government in Scotland (The Planning Exchange, 1984)

Whyte, W. E., Local Government in Scotland (Hodge & Co, 1936) )

References

[1] Burgh Police (Scotland) Act 1833 (3 & 4 Will. IV c.46) s.44.

[2] Burgh Police (Scotland) Act 1833 (3 & 4 Will. IV c.46) s.89, s.111.