Ya Fav Trashman!!

Ya Fav Trashman’ gives an inside look at Philly trash pickup on Instagram and the city is listening

Stephanie Farr, Philadelphia Inquirer

As the controversy over delays in Philadelphia’s trash collection began to mount in June, sanitation worker Terrill Haigler heard residents’ anguished and, (this is Philly) sometimes angry, cries about the garbage piling up on city streets. “People were yearning for an understanding and an answer to why their trash is the way it is,” he said. So he created an Instagram account — @YaFavTrashman — to give people “an inside look at the daily habits of a trashman,” a profession he believes is “probably the most underrated job in America.” More here.

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Trash piling up? Here’s where you can take it.

Grace Dickinson, Philadelphia Inquirer
Yes, the current trash situation is frustrating for everyone, and we’re all tired of staring at soggy pizza boxes outside the front window. But until the Streets Department gets collection schedules back on track, there are centers where you can dispose of your own trash.
They’re called Philadelphia’s Sanitation Convenience Centers. There are six located throughout the city.
Here is more about Philadelphia’s Sanitation Convenience Center drop-off process, and What’s accepted.

The closest one is located at Port Richmond: 3901 Delaware Ave.

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Why are Philly’s streets full of trash during Covid-19? City’s former Zero Waste and Litter Director weighs in.

Nicolas Esposito, GritPhilly

Our City Sanitation system is broken. It was broken before Covid-19 and the cracks are now beginning to give way to a full breakdown of the system due to the pandemic as both trash and recycling pickups are consistently delayed. The reason my former office, the City’s Zero Waste and Litter office, was created in 2016 was because we needed to reduce waste in the City, but also because obvious problems existed in the Sanitation department. So it’s frustrating that one of the primary excuses the Streets Department provided in this statement and Commissioner William’s op-ed is a major increase in residential waste now that people have been staying home during Covid-19. This statement represents the perpetual mistake that the Streets Department and many private and public sector service providers make. Rather than take a hard look at the failings of the system, they blame users for the breakdown of the system.

Read here.