Addressing Trash

Philadelphia is facing an environmental issue currently in that it cannot manage to reasonably clean up its trash. This may seem like old news to many people; however it seems the problem is getting worse after there had been signs of improvement in past months.

Upon returning from studying abroad in Chile for several months, I was actually quite impressed with what seemed to have been a good effort by the City of Philadelphia and its citizens to clean up its streets and public spaces. There really was a noticeable change in the landscape in the sense that the expected amounts of trash had been legitimately reduced. The trash problem in Philadelphia is obviously more of an issue in certain areas of the city than in others. But it was the city-wide lack of trash that was so impressing when I returned to Philadelphia after 8 months away. I must say that it is frustrating to see that the effort by the city to clean itself up seems to have been quickly forgotten.

Although the city and the country as a whole are doing what they can to deal with harsh economic conditions, there simply does not seem to be an excuse for having the trash problem manifest itself into what it has in recent months.




Clearly the city lacks the funds to sponsor consistent superb cleanup efforts. But residents from all parts of Philadelphia should be as quick to pick up their own trash and maintain their own areas as they are to call out the city’s flaws. There doesn’t seem to be too much care going into the process of disposing of trash, and this is something that changes on an individual level, not in some office in city hall (although ultimately the city needs the help of city hall to be successful long-term).





On trash day, so many visible signs strongly grab the attention of anyone walking down the sidewalk. It is frustrating to see that the system is not holding up to respectable standards.

People must become much more interested in the trash problem because it starts on a block by block level. Clearly also heavily responsible is the city for not managing a better collection process. Both sides clearly play a role in making the reality less than what it could be if more effort was given in planning and in practice. Residents generally are not thorough in bagging trash (and many times at even putting it in a trash receptacle), and the city services simply are not efficient or careful in their cleanup effort.



This is something that can change. It has been proven before that people can make a change beginning on a local level (last spring). The trash issue in Philadelphia is one of the basic yet practical challenges the city faces to becoming more realistically a ‘green city’. Fortunately this is an issue that can be physically addressed by everyone. To reach the goal of becoming a green city, people need to believe that they can personally make a change, and that it will set other change in motion.

The primary reason that Philadelphia had physically improved its trash situation in the spring of 2008 was the city-wide effort of residents and officials to get out in the streets and clean up themselves. This historic event was the first Annual Philly Spring Cleanup. It was a huge success. Keep America Beautiful declared the 2008 Philly Spring Cleanup as the “largest single-day, citywide clean-up on record in the United States”. It was claimed that “over 2.5 million pounds of trash and 48,000 pounds of recyclable materials were removed”, and that an estimated 71 commercial corridors and 3,500 blocks” were cleaned. This not only eliminated an enormous amount of trash, but it brought the city together; people could see what they had done together.

These are the types of activities that will help Philadelphia; but it is the mentality of these events that needs to be a daily reality for the citizens of the city. Again this spring, residents will have a chance to make a significant change. Mayor Nutter and the City of Philadelphia are sponsoring the 2nd Annual Philly Spring Cleanup. Their plan is to “again recruit thousands of Philadelphians to volunteer at clean-up sites; to raise awareness about litter prevention; and to instill neighborhood pride and civic responsibility in residents in an effort to keep our city clean each and every day”.
I encourage anyone who can to take part in this event. The event takes place Saturday, April 4th, from 9am to 2pm.