Although Philadelphia is commonly known for its cultured and wealthy history, there are many under-resourced neighborhoods filled with trash. The City of Philadelphia’s Litter Index found that Philly has around 10,000 blocks with moderate to severe litter conditions. Litter in Philly is not just on streets but is also a problem in parks and in the water. The amount of trash negatively affects the way Philly is perceived, but more importantly, creates health concerns.
A big reason why areas in Philadelphia struggle with litter problems is due to a lack of accessibility to trash and recycling bins. This usually happens in areas struggling financially, which the city doesn’t do a great job supporting. Programs like Waste Free Philly and Trash Academy work on blocks throughout the city to host clean-up events and give more accessibility to those who live in underserved areas around Philadelphia. The work that these programs and others put into the cleanup of Philadelphia is great; however, the city also lacks enough programs to support other areas.
Philadelphia does a good job supporting programs like Waste Free Philly and Trash Academy, but in order to keep the goals that these organizations hold, they need to be consistently funded and supported by the city. The city could also support groups in their attempts to start up new programs. The city needs to do a better job of providing equal resources to all neighborhoods throughout the city.
However, this is not just a job that the city can fix; it is also solved by people who live in those communities, who can speak up and bring awareness to the issue. For example, Philadelphia hosts community events yearly, such as an upcoming event on April 6th, called 2024 Philly Spring Cleanup. These are events hosted by the government where community members come together for one day to clean. Some examples of cleaning during these events are picking up trash, sweeping sidewalks, removing graffiti, and painting benches.
Every neighborhood deserves attention and resources for transformative change so that Philadelphia can keep its strong history without the disturbance of litter.
