Which city had five waste disposal areas in 1427?

• A. London
• B. York
• C. Norwich
• D. Coventry

Answer: (D)

Understanding how medieval towns handled waste shows why a city might have five designated waste disposal areas in 1427. Back then, sanitation depended on a few formal arrangements rather than a modern system. Towns set aside specific spots where garbage and sewage could be dumped or collected, often organizing these by wards or along the routes to rivers to make removal easier. The number of such designated areas signals how organized a town was about cleanliness and disease prevention. In records from 1427, Coventry is noted as having five waste disposal areas, illustrating a coordinated approach to waste management across its wards. This detail helps explain why Coventry stands out as the city with five zones. The other cities listed followed different patterns of waste disposal in that period, not described as having five distinct areas in that year.