Garbage is the waste from the kitchen and mess hall. It is usually divided into two categories: WET and DRY. Both have to be removed from the mess area before they cause offensive odors or attract flies and rats.

Cans should be used for storing garbage until the garbage can be removed for disposal. The cans should be kept outside of the kitchen. Covers must be kept on the cans at all times. Cans should not be filled higher than 4 inches from the top. Regular washing of the cans is necessary to help ensure proper sanitation. When steam is available, it can be used to remove accumulated grease.

The common method of disposal is burial. Trenches or pits are dug and the garbage is deposited. Sometimes a continuous trench is used. The garbage for each day is then covered by the excavation made for the following day. The length, width, and depth of the holes vary according to the need; however, you should not pile the garbage higher than 2 feet from the top before covering it with earth.

NOTE: Garbage pits are usually not more than 30 yards from mess areas and not less than 100 yards from water supplies.

Some installations may have facilities to load the garbage on barges. The barges are taken out to sea and the garbage dumped. Where available, movable platforms accomplish this without the need of handling the garbage again.

A few installations bum dry garbage. This method of disposal should be used whenever possible because it is quick and inexpensive.

LOW-TEMPERATURE CLIMATES

In low-temperature areas, such as the Arctic, the problem of sewage and garbage disposal is more difficult than intemperate areas. The difficulty is due to the effect of the low temperature on the physical state of fluids, soils, and other materials involved in garbage and sewage disposal.

The biological and chemical reduction of organic material is a slow process in areas with low-temperature conditions. The soil will not assimilate wastes as readily as under temperate conditions, and permafrost (permanently frozen ground) often does not permit proper drainage of the soil. In addition, most solids, as well as liquids, show a decline in solubility with a decline in temperature. These and other factors have an important bearing on the type of sewage and garbage disposal methods used in the Arctic or other low-temperature areas. Let us consider briefly a few temporary methods suitable for use in such areas. In severely cold weather, feces deposited by troops freezes quickly, and, when pulverized by wind and snow, can soon contaminate a whole area. Sometimes, on a march, a SNOW HOLE maybe used, but it should be placed near a rock or terrain feature that will ensure against other troops bivouacking on the same spot at a later date.

DISPOSAL BAGS offer a good means of preventing the spread of contaminated material and should be used whenever possible. These bags are collected and stacked under rock piles, then disposed of later by dumping them on the ice of adjacent bodies of water. The bags present no problem while frozen, and they cannot be scattered until the thaw begins.

In forward bivouacs, you can expect to find a very simple facility, such as a SLIT TRENCH in the snow, protected by a windbreak. The slit trench should be located in close proximity to the group. Marking prevents other troops from bivouacking on the same spot at a later date.

In a more permanent type of camp, a heated shelter will probably be provided. This may be a tent or prefabricated unit in which there is a portable folding box latrine. All forms of latrines should be marked with the dates they are closed.