Council scavenger

[Zaphod99]

I've seen this job, what specifically did it entail?

Zaph

[Pennines]

Zaphod - it was a bone fide job. You occasionally see adverts in the old newspapers for it. These men used to clean the streets.

[MonicaL]

Old post here on this www.rootschat.com/forum/index.php?topic=341240.0

Monica

[Zaphod99]

Ta.  Basically a rag and bone man.  Glamorous.

Zaph

[Pennines]

Zaph -- don't forget the saying 'Where there's muck there's brass'.

They would get their wage AND be able to appropriate anything useful they could sell!

[Top-of-the-hill]

   In our parish magazine for July 1934, the chairman of the parish council said that the Rural District council wanted to to know whether the parish wanted to join the general "Scavenging System" for the whole district. It involved a scavenging lorry, and an increase in rates.

[Pennines]

That has just made me laugh! I have a picture in my mind of a vehicle with 'Scavenging Lorry' painted on the side.

[radstockjeff]

When I first started working in the Borough Surveyor's office of a small Local Authority (c1960) we had manual road sweepers and part of their job was scavenging. They were paid a little extra per hour and they had a set allowance of perhaps 8 hours per week. In those days the various differential pay rates were calculated to one eighth of a penny per hour. Nightmare for the wages clerk. I think the scavenging was a little "dirtier" than just brushing the pavements.

[Rosinish]

What I knew as a 'Scavenger' with the council were people who emptied bins, lifted old furniture etc. to be taken to the local 'tip' although known as 'Scaffies/Binmen'

At one time it was a job frowned upon by some people but there was a lot of money to be made 'on the side' as was mentioned by selling anything collected which was reusable.

Nowadays it's a well sought after job!

Annie