PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. For Philly’s own Terrill Haigler — also known as Ya Fav Trashman — ridding the city’s neighborhoods of trash is a treasure in itself.
“Clutter creates chaos, which creates anxiety,” he said, “and in anxiety, you make bad choices because you’re not thinking straight.”
Haigler, a former sanitation worker, has been a clean streets advocate since 2020. One of his dreams was to get his own trash truck. He was recently awarded a Keystone Communities Program grant, allowing him to purchase not one but two trucks.
Haigler said clean streets result in less crime. His litter task force employs formerly incarcerated individuals to help haul trash around town.
“When we see something, we pick it up,” he said. “There were some mattresses and frozen drywall just sitting on 11th and Cumberland. We pulled up, took it. Then we went to Carlisle Street behind the KFC. The whole block we brushed, swept all the trash, put it in bags.”
Haigler said living with dumped trash and litter should not be the norm.
“When someone says there’s trash, there’s litter, I think like, if my grandmother walks down this block and slips on a piece of trash, aluminum, paper, whatever … I would be devastated,” he said.
If he gets enough sponsor support, his goal is to pick up 500 tons of trash this year. His long-term goal, of course, would be to have no trash on the streets, but he’ll continue picking up as much as he’s able to.
“Philly deserves it. Philly deserves to be clean.”
During Black History Month, KYW Newsradio’s GameChangers honors individuals or organizations that have made a significant, positive impact in communities of color in the greater Philadelphia region. View the 2025 honorees here.