People in parts of North Philadelphia will soon have their trash collected twice a week as the city tries to reduce illegal trash dumping on its streets.
The program, which is already in effect in South Philadelphia, is part of Mayor Cherelle Parker’s initiative to make the City of Philadelphia cleaner and greener.
“Residents can expect having multiple days throughout the week, which limits their ability to have to store it someplace, and they can legally get rid of it without it becoming a dumping problem throughout the city,” said Carlton Williams, the director of the Office of Clean and Green Initiatives.
Williams’ office has identified hot spots throughout the city that have high amounts of litter.
Red areas indicate higher amounts of litter.
And, Williams said the $19 million program he leads is producing results.
After the city started collecting trash twice a week in South Philadelphia, Williams said they have seen a 19% reduction in illegal dumping cases.
“We want to have a truck come through that route and pick that trash up before you have to think about what I’m gonna do with it,” Williams said. “Do I have to put it out back? Am I gonna put it out early? Am I gonna put it at the corner? Now, we’re gonna come and collect it, and now it’s not gonna become a trash problem any longer.”
Shayam Jalali, a resident of Fishtown, said he currently sees trash left out for days at a time.
“Definitely trash out for days at a time,” he said. “Yeah, I’m not sure if that’s just because people don’t know what days the trucks are coming, or if they’re just putting things out early, but there definitely is a lot of garbage on the street at times.”
Despite the latest move, city officials are also conceding that not every block in Philly needs trash picked up twice a week.
“We have a smaller household, so we don’t accumulate that much trash,” Hansen said. “So, yeah, we have no problem with the current once a week schedule.”
The expansion of the twice a week program will begin in North Philadelphia on Jan. 5, 2026.
After that, city officials will look to expand to other areas of Philadelphia as well.
“We know we have a long way to go. We want this to be the norm, and not the exception,” Williams said. “So, we want people to be able to walk out the street and not talk about how dirty any part of the city is any longer. We want people to just see it as a normal part of life, because everybody deserves a clean and safe community no matter where you live in the City of Philadelphia.”