In crowded Victorian cities, streets were often cesspools of mud, sewage, and horse manure. To combat this, people literally threw sawdust on the roads. This crude solution absorbed liquids and reduced stench, making streets slightly more walkable. Vendors sometimes sold fresh sawdust at corners for a few pence. Though better than nothing, pedestrians often still sank into muck. Hospitals noticed minor improvements in disease rates due to slightly cleaner streets. It was a primitive form of urban sanitation.
Sawdust on streets was an early sanitation attempt in overcrowded cities.
It highlights the extreme conditions of urban life in Victorian Britain.
Did you know some streets were swept multiple times daily just to manage horse dung before sewer systems improved?
[London Metropolitan Archives, londonmet.ac.uk]