Trash Me

Littering in South Philly spans race and generation and is endemic. People misuse street trash cans to dispose of their personal household garbage. So, a trash can on every corner would only lead to a pile of trash on every corner. Residence also fought against street cleaning because they would have to move their cars once a week. The results have been predictable. Our streets and sidewalks are filthy, despite efforts of local individuals and civic associations.

Jeff

A little effort can go a long way. And the effort put forth by Curt, a mild-mannered Society Hill resident collecting trash on his stretch of 4th Street, really made a difference. I passed by Curt on my morning walk to the office, finding him with a handful of garbage and a smile on his face, taking care of what last night's South Street crowd left behind. And the heat didn't stop him, either.

"I have a conscience," Curt said as he headed for the corner trash can, "and I'm not afraid to let people know." He and another diligent neighbor have been making morning pick-ups for years, knowing that their little extra effort keeps Society Hill the way it is. If all it takes is a pair of dedicated residents to clean a block, then the concerned reading this blog should find a neighbor and spend three minutes outside. And as for myself, I intend on offering an orange juice-incentive to find a partner.

I've received a number of emails concerning neighborhood street sweeps, and all make a valid point: the street sweeping system needs to be more routine and much more thorough. Unfortunately, parking schedules present a problem in doing just that, and altering such schedules would bring a second (and third and fourth) City department into the fray, potentially delaying any street sweeps.

So I'm wondering how communities can address parking in regards to street sweep schedules. Would it be possible to organize a "community parking agreement?" This might be something for Community Development Centers to brainstorm, but for now I'll gladly discuss possibilities and ideas. Do any of you anti-litter advocates feel organizing your community to step aside for street sweeps could happen, and would be successful?

Earlier this summer, Melissa expressed concern over a newspaper box-turned trash receptacle (see June 12th). After alerting Streets Department of the situation, I decided to make a call. But as I gave this company the benefit of the doubt, it returned my inquiry with a dismal response. According to an unnamed employee, the press is "aware and working on it." The company has been “aware” since last spring, and intends on contacting the distributor “to take a look.” Disheartened, I wonder why not take action after all this time. There are no actual papers inside, and the boxes (three broken along Chestnut Street) are eyesores. Not only do they encourage the same apathy that fuels this litter-epidemic, but each sits in a high-traffic area, marring the City's strongest shopping district and exposing our worst side to suburban shoppers and tourists.

I'll be patient before lobbying for Streets Department assistance, however, I can't imagine that a few more motivational phone calls would hurt.

The other day I was at City Hall and noticed that the place is covered with trash. I mean this is the center of Philadelphia: I can’t imagine what it is like to be a tourist, coming to take pictures of the newly restored and beautifully designed City Hall and step over empty chip bags, empty drink cups, newspapers, etc. just to get a picture.

Below the surface, at the underground City Hall subway station, it is an even worse nightmare. I do not even go near there because of the amount of trash, hypodermic needles and filth that settles there. It doesn’t feel safe. If I ever need to get on the Broad Street Line, I will walk down to the cleaner, seemingly-safer Walnut-Locust stop. It is absolutely amazing that, in a span of three blocks, these two places are so different.

Kristin

Orange juice didn't work in finding a cleaning partner (see August 2nd), but nevertheless I spent two of the past four mornings tidying my block. Combined, both mornings totaled 11 minutes of litter-picking. It may not solve the city-wide epidemic or stop illegal short dumping, but 11 minutes a week does make a difference. Special thanks to Jonathan, John and Emily who did the same for their respective streets.

Here's a good one about Alan the Seasonal Maintenance Attendant for Malcolm X Park in West Philadelphia. I interviewed him recently about his job and trash in general. Maybe you'll find it interesting.

Andrew

My question to you both is if you have investigated whether the City of Philadelphia keeps any records or statistics of tickets issued for littering within the downtown/center city area. If they are available, I would wager a guess that the numbers are so low, they're not even worth publicly reporting. I walk to work every morning and see at least 3-5 people openly and blatantly littering on well traveled city streets (Rittenhouse area, Walnut Street, Chestnut Street, Broad, etc), often while in the presence of city police officers or center city district representatives. I have no doubt the police don't have the manpower or resources to actively police littering (especially in light of violent crime prevention), but I think if we could find a way to actively and financially punish those that litter in these densely populated and well-traveled areas, it could change people's behaviors and possibly carry over to attitudes towards littering in outlying neighborhoods.

If one person rushing to work drops a wrapper and gets a $25 ticket and is delayed in getting to their job as a result, I have to imagine that person would be a little more cautious about where they placed trash in the future… not to mention the bystanders in the general area where the ticket was being issued. People are always interested in police activity... think rubbernecking while driving past a traffic accident… and if they see and hear (I'm sure the person getting ticketed will conveniently be loud/irate about the entire situation and will openly and loudly let everyone in the area know how outraged they are) a fellow pedestrian being written up for littering, they too will know that they need to watch their step.

Matthew

It may be late, but still significant news in the litter-issue atmosphere: Center City District has agreed to patrol and purify the underground SEPTA concourse beneath City Hall. The often complained about blemish on Center City’s streets (well, under) will be getting the attention it deserves. Everyone has a horror story, and sometimes a plastic bag or discarded can isn’t the worst thing to be found underground. And the smells, well, you know about the smells.

But I’m looking forward to see what CCD and City have in store for the concourse. And while it may be a little too optimistic, I believe stepping off the subway into a clean station will discourage littering. It won’t be one large community trash can anymore, and hopefully citizens respect that.

This is a real win for every anti-litter advocate. With work to begin soon, I’m anxious to see and smell a difference. I’m also wondering which other areas could benefit from a City and community development corporation partnership: any ideas? The progress with the concourse doesn’t have to be an exception…

I’m making it a weekly routine to set my alarm 15 minutes early Wednesday mornings, giving enough time to survey and sweep the block. And this brisk taste of fall hasn’t stopped me, or the other do-gooders who have provided pick-up updates. Jonathan, Kayla, Emily, John and “Anonymous on 24th Street” have each commented on their continued efforts. Keep up the great work.

If there are others, don’t be shy. And if there aren’t, then isn’t it time to put your body where your blog is?

Fellow Anti-Litter Advocates,

Thank you to all who read and contribute to this forum – especially those who have made a concerted effort to beautify our City by starting with weekly clean ups of their own block. As mentioned, taking ten or fifteen minutes a week to clean a block can make a significant difference in the quality of our everyday lives.

In a perfect world, such efforts wouldn’t be needed. I would much rather address the source – people who litter – than clean up trash after the fact. I agree that greater enforcement of current litter laws would help stem what many see as an epidemic of trash on our streets.

As you can imagine, however, the laws are difficult to enforce. One person here mentioned the disproportionate amount of trash around City Hall. Unfortunately, a good portion of the trash around City Hall is left by the City’ homeless population (an entirely different subject that warrants lengthy discussion). Putting it simply, fining a homeless person for littering would most likely prove fruitless and a waste of City resources – and would be an unkindness to someone of likely limited mental capacity. On other hand, I would absolutely advocate for fining those individuals who should know better, but choose to foul our environment.

I would be remiss if I failed to point out the positive steps being taken all over the City. The new full-time crews who clean the concourse under Center City have already created a noticeable difference. I also expect L&I’s enforcement on the ban against commercial signs on public property will greatly curtail a practice that plagues many neighborhoods. Finally, I think some of the best work is being done by everyday citizens, like people here, who fly under the radar, but do the little things that add up to a cleaner City.

Remember, the “little things” matter:
“For want of a nail, the shoe was lost.”
“For want of a shoe, the horse was lost.”
“For want of a horse, the horseman was lost.”
“For want of a horseman, the battle was lost.”
“For want of a battle, the kingdom was lost.”
“And, all for the want of a horseshoe nail!”

The promise of a new Administration in January offers the prospect of renewed efforts and energy to make our City clean and attractive. Please be assured that I will support those efforts. I will also continue to monitor this forum for ideas. Of course, people are always welcome to contact my office directly.

Sincerely,
Frank Rizzo
Councilman At-Large
City of Philadelphia

In addition to Councilman Rizzo weighing in, Councilman Greenlee is also listening carefully, forwarding his thanks and offering assistance:

“Dear Ned:

I congratulate all those working on decreasing litter all over the city of Philadelphia. All those efforts, from individual block clean-ups to the Center City District's work, have real tangible effects.

My office is available to assist those working in anti-litter activities. Please let us know if we can help.

Sincerely,
William K. Greenlee
Councilman-at-Large”

Both Councilmen-at-Large are among others who have shown concern about litter and have praised Philadelphia’s motivated, dedicated and vocal citizens – I hope this response from Philly’s leadership encourages more of the same.

Frustration over the issue, and appreciation and enthusiasm for those stepping up: this is what I see and hear in and around City Hall. Our leadership is willing to be active and in turn we need to show a willingness to communicate.

Saying, "I need trash cans, and there's illegal dumping in my neighborhood" isn't enough; we need to make contact and provide details. Both Councilmen Rizzo and Greenlee have encouraged phone calls and offered office assistance. Let's take advantage of it. I've heard outstanding ideas for litter authorities and street sweeping suggestions, and am curious to know how many of such have made it to our City Council offices. Sometimes, one more phone call is all it takes.

I'll be posting comments from our two 2007 Mayoral candidates tomorrow. Their statements, in addition to Council's proven awareness, show that our leadership is listening. It's only fair we express our mutual feelings, and give them something to listen to.

To get a sense of what litter and garbage do to the health and well-being of Philadelphians, we need only to look back in Philadelphia City history. The Fairmount Park System in part was created to solve the City’s early problem with water supply contamination by litter and waste. Through city planning the waterworks were moved from the Center Square Water Works to the banks of the Schuylkill River creating the Fairmount Water Works and Fairmount Park System. Today, the Fairmount Park System and its over 9200 acres of land, weaving through 63 neighborhoods and regional parks within the City of Philadelphia, stands as a testament to what good solid city planning can do.

So what can be done with Philadelphia’s present litter and waste problem? Enforcement of litter violations alone will never solve the problem. I commend the community leaders in their tireless efforts to keep our city clean. Their work is a starting point for solving our City’s litter problem. The litter problem in the City can only be solved by good City planning from the Mayor and City Council. Just like Philadelphia did in 1855, when it created the Fairmount Park System, our next Mayor must work with City Council to set up neighborhood by neighborhood cleanup, beautification and education programs. Youth programs in each neighborhood should stress street cleanliness and anti-graffiti programs. Planning starts by targeting neighborhoods individually and working on the immediate goals of cleaning streets in each neighborhood thereby instilling neighborhood pride and a sense of community.

A clean city is a healthy city that is alive and vital. When elected Mayor I plan to make sure that Philadelphia is the gleaming example that William Penn set forth when he took the time to plan city streets and parks so that life and commerce would uplift its residents.

Al Taubenberger
Candidate for Mayor

During my fifteen years on City Council I was committed to improving the quality of life for all Philadelphians and I plan to continue that effort if I am elected Mayor.

Throughout the summer the Nutter for Mayor campaign has been actively organizing community clean-ups around the city. With the help of volunteers and residents, we have been able to clean neighborhoods in Germantown, Point Breeze, Wingohocking, Fairhill, and East Parkside, but there are many more neighborhoods in need of help.

If elected I will initiate a massive city wide clean-up program, working with state and congressional leaders to provide support to residents and communities who want to clean up their neighborhoods. I will also partner with community groups throughout the city to clean up the litter and debris in neighborhoods.

As Mayor I will work with city departments to plant thousands of trees, increase street lighting and fix roads and sidewalks in an effort to restore pride in our neighborhoods and in our city. Just a few months ago, visiting New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin described Philadelphia as a very dirty city; is this the impression that we want visitors to have of our city? The state of our sidewalks and streets says something about our opinion of our city, and if we want others to respect us, we need to clean up Philadelphia.

Taking care of Philadelphia needs to be a coordinated effort among residents, community organizations, the city and state. Let's view Mayor Nagin's words as a challenge to clean up Philadelphia. I want to bring back a sense of pride to our city, pride in our neighborhoods, and our pride as citizens of a great city.

Please join us at one of our upcoming community clean-ups by contacting Alain Joinville at (215) 545-9700 for more details. I welcome your comments and suggestions on how to make Philadelphia a cleaner city.

Michael Nutter
Candidate for Mayor