Street-cleaning Problems and Practices

The problem of keeping our cities and towns clean is far more complex and baffling than most of our citizens realize. Many of our city officials do not truly realize its magnitude: they are aware that so many street sweepers, truck drivers, and white wings are on the payroll; but without investigation they naturally assume that the best possible job is being done. Many of us have visited other cities and, noticing the unmis­ takable cleanliness, have wished that our own city might be as clean and healthful looking. A clean city cannot escape favorable notice and comment. It attracts business enterprise and buying consumers. But cleanliness does not just happen, due possibly to a favorable climate or geographic location, or to the fact that the city is or is not a commercial center. Worthwhile results require a study of local conditions, insti­ tution of a well-laid plan, and constant attention to the opera­ tion of the plan. Fundamentally, most streets are kept just as clean as the citizens desire or demand. But the citizens do not clean the streets. They litter them and then complain to the local government if adequate measures are not taken properly to remove all refuse promptly. One factor governing any program is the frequency of cleaning. Conditions controlling this are: