Editing Garbage disposal

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A '''garbage disposal''' is any convenient mechanism to quickly (and, preferably, automatically) dispose of the ever-growing mounds of trash produced by a successful fortress. Trash includes [[vermin]] remains, spoiled [[food]], excessively [[wear|worn]] clothing and goods, stray [[animal]] corpses and unusable byproducts, and the remains of [[invader]]s who foolishly attack your fortress. Note that, if you choose to dispose of your citizens' corpses in the same manner, you will need to prepare [[memorial]]s to avoid [[ghost]]s and unhappy [[thought]]s. 

Properly disposing of trash is necessary to keep your fortress neat, your dwarves happy, and your [[Frames per second|framerate]] high. When disposing of [[clothing]] and goods, [[Item quality|masterwork]] items will cause an unhappy thought in the minds of their creators. This can be avoided by trading those items to a passing [[caravan]].

==Refuse stockpile==

The basic disposal method is a refuse [[stockpile]]. Trash placed in a stockpile with refuse enabled will [[wear|degrade]] over time, and most items will rot away eventually. A simple refuse stockpile is generally sufficient for a small fortress, though disposal needs grow significantly as fortress size increases. Once you stockpile becomes full, trash will accumulate in your fortress hallways until you resolve the problem. An overtaxed refuse pile is frequently signaled by clouds of [[miasma]].

==Landfill==

Combining your refuse stockpile with a [[Exploit#Quantum_stockpiles|quantum stockpile]] allows your dwarves to stack infinitely many items in a single tile. If that tile is also a refuse stockpile, your trash will continue to degrade and disappear over time. While this design takes care of the problem of refuse stockpile space, it does not reduce the game's item count nearly as quickly as the disposal methods below.

==Pulverizer==

A [[dwarven atom smasher]] can pulverize any amount of trash instantly. Initial designs are often manual (using a garbage dump [[Activity Zone|zone]] and the [[Garbage_dump|dump]] command), however when combined with a quantum stockpile, your dwarves will automatically dump their garbage into a pit for easy disposal. The atom smasher can be operated manually, or automated with a [[repeater]]. Be warned that an atom smasher is capable of tossing trash back up several [[z-level]]s and injuring dwarves above; for safety, a garbage chute should be employed of two or more z-levels, especially if the atom smasher is automated.

==Incinerator==

A small pool of [[magma]] can conveniently incinerate most garbage, including corpses. This system can be manually operated (via a garbage dump [[zone]]) or automated (via a quantum stockpile). It is highly recommended to locate the magma at least three [[z-level]]s below the dump location (to avoid deadly [[magma mist]]). If you pipe your garbage chute down to the [[magma sea]], even [[magma-safe]] items can be disposed of with ease.

==Sewer==

Trash that is washed off the edge of the map by liquid [[flow]] immediately disappears. This can be accomplished by using a [[river]] aboveground, or draining an [[aquifer]] or [[lake]] into the [[caverns]] or a fortification at the map's edge underground. As above, you can control the dumping of garbage manually or conveniently automate it with a quantum stockpile. Note that the flowing liquid will probably impact your framerate more significantly than the accumulation of trash, so it is a good idea to build in [[floodgate]]s and only operate your disposal occasionally.