They were once called Dustcarts, then Bin Lorries and now I note, from a Reading Council newsletter, Electric Refuse Collection Vehicles (eRCVs).
This got me intrigued and I bought a secondhand copy of An Illustrated History of Dustcarts by Hinton J Sheryn for the princely sum of £2.58. It’s actually a very interesting read…really.
From a variety of sources here is a brief overview of the origin of dustcarts (garbage trucks) in the UK:
- Before the 19th century, waste collection was informal and unorganised in most cities. Waste was simply thrown into the streets or backyard pits.
- In the early 1800s, the dramatic increase in urban population due to the Industrial Revolution led to a waste crisis in cities like London and Manchester. The streets became filled with rotting waste, contributing to disease outbreaks.
- The Public Health Act of 1875 first established municipal responsibility for organised waste collection in the UK. This spurred the development of early garbage carts and dustcarts pulled by horses.
- By the 1920s, motorised dustcarts were widely adopted by municipal authorities in the UK. Different collection methods were used like rear-loading, side-loading, and front-end loading trucks.
- After World War II, truck designs advanced to incorporate compactor blades and mechanised lifting/emptying of bins. This allowed more waste to be stored and transported.
- Today, modern dustcarts continue to undergo innovation, utilising technologies like AI routing, electric engines, and hydraulic lifting mechanisms. Waste collection has become automated on a large scale.
There are a few reasons why early garbage trucks in the UK were referred to as “dustcarts”:
- Origin of the name: The word “dust” in dustcart refers to fine powders or particles, specifically ash and cinders. In the late 19th/early 20th century, many dustcarts were first used to collect ash waste from residential fireplaces and furnaces before municipal garbage collection was widespread.
- Ash collection: Collecting ash waste was one of the first duties of early horse-drawn dustcarts in the late 1800s. The ash and “dust” would be taken away to dumps. The name dustcart stuck even as they switched to collecting broader household refuse.
- Euphemism: Calling them “dustcarts” was likely a euphemism used by municipal authorities who wanted a less unpleasant name than “garbage cart.” “Dust” sounded lighter and cleaner.
- Roving function: Unlike fixed garbage cans/bins, these carts “roved” through neighbourhoods collecting ashes, food scraps, and all manner of dust and waste bits. Their roving function may have inspired the name.
So in summary, the name dustcart highlighted their original use for ash collection but also served as a polite euphemism in an era sensitive to cleanliness and propriety. The roving carts collected “dust” of all types!
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