Trash Me

In June, I was walking in a suburban parking lot, when a woman in a Rav4 tossed a lit cigarette out of her window in front of me. She parked. I picked it up (still lit) and brought it over to her.

Rapped on her window "I think you dropped this". She shook her head no. I replied "What, don't you smoke?" She lowered her window and took the cigarette from me and sheepishly thanked me.

I did my shopping and when I walked back to my car, I passed by the Rav4, expecting to find the cigarette tossed again. It wasn't (at least not right there), so I took this as a Small Victory.

Then, as Fate would have it, 15 minutes later I run into the woman AGAIN, this time in a grocery store. She passed by me, then came back and said to me, "I just wanted to let you know that I tossed the cigarette out in a trash can." I thanked her. As she walked away, she threw this comment over her shoulder: "Oh, and I have *HEPATITIS C*, so you should go wash your hands, since it can be transmitted by saliva". I laughed and tossed back at her "Well, then I guess you should know better than to toss your cigarettes out of a car window then, huh?"

Renters and owners both are responsible to keep the hood clean.Your contract should provide for trash storage until pickup day.
Even people who are living in a neighborhood temporarily are responsible to keep it clean.

Jim

The trash at ground level is not the only problem. Walk past the parking garage on 15th and Ionic - look up. The razor wire has snagged a water bottle and the plastic bunting that must have flown off someone's groceries or dry cleaning. Very attractive.

I've received a few comments from readers who have bravely, or slyly, confronted litterers on the spot. In a city where a 14-year-old boy can be shot for not getting out of the way of a car, I don't know how wise it is to tell a stranger to pick up the burger box he just dumped on the sidewalk.
But it's an honorable effort.
I used to worry about my mother, a feisty old woman, who - in her 70s - would ride the subways in New York and chastise anyone - any size, any musculature - she saw dropping so much as a candy wrapper in his wake. Fortunately, no one ever slugged her. She died, peacefully, in my home (surrounded by piles of unfolded laundry).

I think the city should set cameras up at all the entrances and exits of 95 and 76 etc...and fine people for littering like they do for running red lights. Cops should work undercover and ticket people for littering. It is amazing to me that there are trash cans at practically every corner in Center City and people still toss garbage anywhere. I think a few $300 littering fines would make people think twice before they trash their environment. Besides doesn't this city need more cash anyway?

Mark F.

A reader, who prefers to remain anonymous and you can understand why when you read this, just sent an e-mail, proving that there is hope for rehabilitating the litterer.
"There's a number in PA 1-888-LITTERBUG," (s)he wrote. "You can call when you see someone driving and throwing a cigarette out the window, or any trash. You give the make/model of the car and license plate # and location where you witnessed the littering. They then send a letter to the offender telling them they were caught and not to do it again.

I was personally busted when a passenger in my car threw a cigarette out the window. The letter was very intimidating and I am very concious of any litter now..."

Confronting someone on this matter is a difficult issue and requires, as does most things, a bit of thought prior to opening one's mouth. Generally speaking, a litterbug should be called out, so I would always err on the side of letting someone know. However, if the person makes one feel uncomfortable, a/k/a unsafe, then just pick up the piece of garbage they threw on the ground and put it in a bin yourself. Maybe, at a minimum, they will learn by example.

j. edward

I live on South Street between 16th and 17th and I see people who work in businesses at one end of my block go to a store on the other end, toss their bags of chips and soda bottles and Slim Jim wrappers all over the street as they trudge back to their jobs. This is a block that has one city maintained receptacle at one end and another one placed outside by the variety store on the other end. It seems to me like pure laziness and lack of respect for their surroundings.

Another thing that gets me fired up is when the trash collectors leave debris strewn all over the sidewalks. The last thing I want to do before I head to work in the morning is clean up after these slobs. When I was in college I worked for the Abington township trash department. If anyone left the neighborhoods that we serviced in the condition that I see mine after trash day, they'd be looking for another job.
A.J.

The city is at least partially responsible for the littering problem.
Not only does it not provide enough public trash cans in areas infrequently visited by business people and tourists, but it discourages private citizens from providing them on their own.

In my South Philly neighborhoood, I'd like nothing better than to leave a trash can at the corner for every passerby to use. However, the city fines property owners and renters for leaving trash cans outside.

So trash and litter -- not a problem.

Trash cans -- big problem and a quick fine.

Jordan

Unfortunately, I have a trash story to top them all. Along the east side of my little patch of Holmesburg sits a paper manufacturing plant. Of course, it has a 10 foot chain link fence with barbed wire along the perimeter of the property, and along the streetside, a swath of about 20 feet of land. I imagine it was at one point meant to be a sidewalk or some sort of public right-of-way. For years, neighbors used to innocently walk their dogs along this strip, usually picking up Fido's mess after.

But, in the past 2 years, things have deteriorated significantly. People are dumping their household trash, construction debris - I've seen everything including the kitchen sink down there among the jungle of overgrown weeds. Someone even saw fit to change their oil there - and didn't bother to use a pan or dispose of the empty containers. After heavy rainstorms, gullies develop, harboring mosquito larvae. When a stench developed, that was enough.

Two years ago, I contacted the CLIP program, Mayor Street's office, Councilwoman Joan Krajewski's office, NTI and the Streets Department - to no avail. This year, I contacted CLIP again and, to their credit, they did cut down the weeds and carry out the trash.

My theory is that until this little patch of town looks like something that should be respected and taken care of - a curb, maybe a sidewalk (would a few trees be too much to ask?), instead of an elongated strip of vacant property, the problem is just going to get worse. I plan to contact the city agencies responsible for such things again this summer and fall, hoping to get something done about what amounts to a black eye in this otherwise great neighborhood.

Neil

I often confront litterbugs, particularly if I have some extra time and am in "one of those moods".

Usually they take the trash that I hand them, shove it in their pocket or a trash can, and just look embarrassed. The last time I did it, the guy looked at me (with drugged out eyes), announced to me that I'm fat (no kidding, dude, that's a revelation if ever I heard one), and dropped the trash right back on the ground. Of course, I picked it up again and tried to give it to him again. It didn't work and I decided to stop before he punched me. I definitely got the sense that we were nearing the point of physical violence, so that was probably a smart move.

It makes me crazy. We can talk about global warming, pollution, etc all we want, but if we can't convince people to throw their trash in a garbage can, it's going to be a long road.

Melissa (not Dribben)

I completely agree with you on the trash and litterbug issue. I find myself picking up after those who discard trash so nonchalantly like its ok. Sad part of it is that some people don't even realize or see anything wrong with throwing trash on the ground. I have an idea: Why not post pictures of the offenders on the bus stop shelters! Ha that would be awesome!
Janice

Concerning the trash can issue: Personal trash cans cannot be monitored and dumped by the City for liability reasons. However, City trash cans are easily provided. For those in need of an additional trash can on their block, businesses, community groups and even individuals can adopt a can: the Streets Department will supply it (free) in exchange for a commitment of responsibility for trash can maintenance – i.e., making sure it doesn’t overflow, ensuring the bag is inside, etc. Call the Streets Department: Philadelphia More Beautiful Committee (PMBC) at 1 (215) 685-3981 to request a can and for additional information.
Also, if reader Neil ("A truly sad story with a semi-happy ending") would provide an address, we can take a look at the area.
For any questions about who to contact or specific issues, please have your readers contact me at me at the Urban Industry Initiative, at Ned.Rauch-Mannino@phila.gov.

Ned

When and if an anti-trash campaign gets launched - I'll be the first to sign up. This garbage situation everywhere in this city has gotten way out of hand! We need a HUGE movement if we want anything done. Let's come together, those of us who care where and how we live.
Kathy

Kathy, please contact me at Ned.Rauch-Mannino@phila.gov, and I can forward you information on the Love Where You Live Campaign, a joint effort by Streets Department, Manufacturing Alliance of Philadelphia, NTI and Urban Sustainability Initiative, with the re-emergence of Keep Philadelphia Beautiful. Currently conducting litter surverys and performing Saturday street clean-ups (with Philadelphia More Beautiful), this campaign also includes innovative enforcement strategies and an educational component. The latter parts are in pilot phases now, but we can assist with neighborhood clean-ups and provide resources or volunteer opportunities today.

Regards,

Ned R

I tried to locate a link to the "Love Where You Live Campaign," at phila.gov, etc. but no go. Does anyone have a URL/link for the same? Please post - thanks!

We can change Philadelphia for the better one neighborhood at a time

anonymous

A webpage is in the works. I can forward information (e-mail Ned.Rauch-Mannino@phila.gov) or you can call the Streets Department at 1 (215) 686-5470 or Keep Philadelphia Beautiful at 1 (215) 477-0235.

Regards,

Ned R

The city is dirty and worse than any other. Not even close to Paris---New York--New Orleans. And there is no enforcement of any litter laws if they exist. I was on Bourbon Street a few years ago and the mess left after the partying was immense. The difference is that when I went for a run at 8:00 am the following morning the street was immaculate -- not only was all the trash picked up but the street was washed. Now take a run on South Street on a Sunday morning, or even at noon, you'll see bottles, trash bags and oozing garbage. It's disgusting.
Another great spot, when returning guests to the airport, is the on ramp to 95 south from Columbus Boulevard. The area is never cleaned up. The city is filthy even in tourist areas (except for parts of Market Street--Walnut Street and Rittenhouse Square. The fact that you have to request a trash can in your neighborhood shows our mentality towards dirt and litter. If the Parking Authority's efficiency - an approach which penalizes tourists - was applied to litter, we could clean up the city! Filthadelphia lives on.
Miguel

Instead of living with the unsightly strip in Holmesburg, why don't you organize a group of neighbors and work together to improve this area? I don't understand why so many people expect the city or CLIP to take responsibility. If the neighbors invest their own time and sweat into cleaning up the neighborhood, this would discourage other neighbors from dumping. A sense of pride and ownership is something no amount of city services can bring to a neighborhood.

JG

Philadelphians need to stop trashing their neighborhoods and I mean that literally. The trash that litters the streets is not dropped off in the night by little green men from Mars. This is our stuff -- if not you-- your neighbors and your children. The city of Philadelphia does not have the money to hire enough employees to pick up behind the slobs that live here. I moved to South Philly two years ago and I am appalled at the amount of trash and outright garbage that people feel free to dump onto the public right of way. And for the most part, it is just left there. I don't see many outraged block residents rushing to pick it up. They just ignore it, or add their contribution to the mess.
If someone dumps an empty bottle or chip bag or pizza flyer on my street and I see it, I pick it up and put it in my own trash can. Do I like cleaning up behind some stranger or their ill-mannered children? No. But it is my block, my front yard, my front stoop, and my home value that is damaged if I don't.

E.Young

The Philadelphia Horticultural Society has a tree program and Philadelphia Green Programs. To get involved and/or to find out more, go to www.phs.org

Also go here to get ideas on this type of thing for kids:
Camden Children's Garden Botanical Gardens www.camdenchildrensgarden.org/

Hope that this helps.

Susan James

The efficiency of the PPA is truly astounding, but then that's a money-maker and provides patronage jobs. Cleaning up litter is unglamorous and unprofitable. When I was growing up there were anti-litter public service announcements on television all the time and it was drummed into you to "Keep America Beautiful." Supposedly "America starts here" which is a sad comment on our history. It is one of the dirtiest cities I've been to, and I don't understand why there is no civic effort to clean it up and keep it clean.

If you'd like to come up with a T-shirt design commenting on "Filthydelphia." - try www.spreadshirt.com

Anne

As Melissa leaves for vacation, I am just coming back from Chicago. In addition to having a much later curfew for business, and the best Greek food outside of Greece, the city is spotless. Not a bag or can could be found on the streets, trash cans appeared maintained, and only tour boats floated by on the river. The cleanliness is clearly the result of something greater than a well-orchestrated city effort. I commented while at dinner to our waitress, who explained, "that's how it is here, it's a responsible city."

That attitude of responsibility isn't exclusive to Downtown Chi-town, as a few neighborhood visits affirmed the mindset. I actually had difficulty finding trash. Citizens understand the importance of a litter-free city, and we need to do the same. Responsibility isn't found in a city budget, and with self-motivation (and perhaps a little Greek cuisine) Philadelphians can take after our sister-city in the Midwest.