Adjusting my camera, I waited as two children ran across the frame and out of view. A playground sits just on the other side, as do a school and a housing community, both bustling with family activity. For a moment, I debated whether or not to warn the children to steer clear of the garbage, but I realized they already were doing so; unfortunately, it's obvious this wall of trash has been here for quite some time.
So, focusing the zoom, I wonder what's the more important question: How did this happen, or why is this eyesore still exist?
A City-guided, Philadelphia-wide clean-up is in the works, aiming to involve citizens and promote neighborhood responsibility. And while I love the idea of clean-up campaigns, something like this, this gigantic wall of trash, shouldn't be the responsibility of a handful of residents with brooms and bags. This is hazardous, and one of a dozen similar pictures from the neighborhood. Oozing batteries, chemical containers, shattered glass and splintered crates covered in what I can only imagine is tar are just an example of what is scattered within such wreckage in this Southwest Philly neighborhood.
With the new administration adding duties and engineering clean-ups, I have to wonder who is taking on the wall. Who will be responsible for ensuring community hazards, like this, are responded to as quickly as the trash-strewn commercial corridors or the recycling situation? Because, in my opinion, this is worse than the need for recycling and street sweeping or being responsible: this is, simply put, dangerous.
Comments (1)
I agree that such deplorable vistas are both a shame and a danger to our public’s well-being. We should remember though that waste problems such as these are most likely not rooted within inadequate clean-up programs, but are more likely caused by the lack of enforcement programs to deal with the illegal disposal of rubbish. I believe you're correct in assuming that most of us are responsible residents who pick up a wondering piece of trash for proper disposal, and I also agree that sites such as these are a little more than the community watch can handle. The problem though, I think, lies in either the lack of available receptacles for individuals predisposed to heavy littering, or the lack of enforcing the laws which prevent the occurrence of situations like the one you encountered from developing.
Posted by Patrick | March 1, 2008 3:27 PM
Posted on March 1, 2008 15:27