PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia is expanding twice-weekly trash collection to 90,000 new households, north and east of Center City.
The city’s Clean and Green Director Carlton Williams said that since the first twice-weekly collection began in South Philadelphia and Center City last year, complaints about illegal dumping in the pilot area have decreased by 20%.
“The majority of complaints is not from private contractors, it’s not from tire shops, it’s not from commercial businesses, it’s from residential illegal dumping where bags of trash are placed in [a] location. And once one person does it, everybody else begins to do it,” Williams said.
The exact boundaries of the new pilot area are Vine Street to Hunting Park; west to the Schuylkill; Vine to Glenwood, and East to the Delaware.
If your collection day was Monday or Thursday, it’s now Monday and Thursday. If it was once a week on Tuesday or Friday, it’s now Tuesday and Friday. People with Wednesday pick-ups will also get a Saturday pick-up. Recycling is only once a week on your original collection day.
During holiday weeks, pick-up occurs once on your original collection day. For each collection, you can put out up to eight bags of trash and two pieces of compactible furniture.
To carry out the new service, the city has added 20 new crews, a total of at least 60 people. It has also bought 60 new trash trucks since Mayor Cherelle Parker took office.
Williams said twice-weekly collections eliminate the need for residential dumping, and considering the quality of life consequences that come with dumping, such as blight and crime, he thinks it’s worth the $19 million price tag for the service.