Le Nord : revue internationale des Pays de Nord - 01.06.1942, Page 276

z6 4
LE NORD
refuse-bins and the municipal refuse-dumps receive many things
that might very well be put to good use. To ensure this, has be-
come the task of the L. A. B. in about fifty towns all over the
country. Workers, many or few according to the size of the town,
have obtained permanent and, in most cases, well-paid work, by
making regular tours of households, offices, and institutions,
collecting all waste material that may still be put to use. The
greater part is household remains ("wet refuse”), all kinds of
kitchen offall which may be utilized as food for pigs. What may
seem insignificant in a single household, contributes to a total
result that amounts to considerable quantities; in 1941 sufficient
food was collected in this way for the feeding of at least 20.000
pigs. At the same time the “dry refuse”: metal, cork, waste
paper, rubber, etc. constitutes important raw materials for many
branches of industry. In some other countries similar collections
have been organized by the State by law or regulations. In Den-
mark it has been done on an entirely voluntary basis. The “Spild-
mænd” (waste collectors) have become a popular institution;
their relations with the housewives on whose collaboration the
results depend, and with the population in general, are excellent.
In the Capital, there are as many as 250 men employed, in other
cities from 1 to 60.
In a country like Denmark which is largely dependent upon
foreign countries for its fuel, the shrinking of imports during the
war has created a serious problem. It has been necessary to
meet the difficulties by an intensified exploitation of the lignite
and peat reserves of the country. The Danish forests, which do
not cover a very considerable part of the country, have been
called upon to furnish greatly increased quantities of wood for
household and industrial purposes, and further to provide wood
for motor cars to replace petrol. This intensified demand is a
menace to the future of the forests. There is, however, one reserve
which has not been utilized in the past, because the labour costs
could not be covered through the sales price of the product:
namly the tree stumps, which are normally left to rot in the
ground. If taken in time (i. e. within the first five years) they con-
stitute a most voluable fuel. The exploitation of this reserve has
been taken up in many parts of the country, partly by private
entrepreneurs, partly by municipalities, and partly by local
L. A. B. branches, which, in many cases, have acted as pioneers.
The results are most encouraging. Many hundreds of unemployed