Thanksgiving trash schedule, water bill relief, & more

Check out the latest sustainability news:

Holiday trash and recycling collection schedule. In observance of the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday, city departments will be closed. There will be no trash or recycling pickup on Thursday or Friday of this week. Instead, Thursday’s materials will be picked up on Saturday, November 29, and Friday’s will be picked up on Sunday, November 30. There is no second trash collection day this week for twice-a-week neighborhood schedules. 

OTIS releases Vision Zero Action Plan 2030. The Office of Transportation and Infrastructure Systems released the city’s Vision Zero Action Plan 2030 as a guide to eliminate traffic deaths in Philadelphia. This builds on previous plans set in 2017 and 2020, which have worked to implement traffic-calming measures across the city. According to OTIS, in 2024, “less than 10 percent of all crashes involved people walking, biking, rolling, or riding a motorcycle,” but those modes “accounted for nearly two-thirds of the fatalities in that year.”

Mussels may be reproducing naturally in the Manayunk Canal. Freshwater mussels are natural water filters and are being used by the Mussel Hatchery at Fairmount Water Works in an attempt to improve water quality in the Schuylkill River. Although scientists were originally unsure if the mussels would survive the Canal waters, the presence of juvenile mussels now suggests that they are not only surviving but reproducing on their own. 

Councilmember introduces legislation to curb rising water bills. Councilmember Jamie Gauthier has introduced a “Just Water” package to assist low-income homeowners and renters as water bills rise to pay for upgrades to Philly’s aging water infrastructure. Calling water “a basic human right, not a luxury,” Gauthier has the support of ten other councilmembers, including Nicolas O’Rourke, Kendra Brooks, and Anthony Phillips. Billy Penn

November temperatures rising in Philadelphia. Temperatures continue to rise from year to year in Philadelphia due to climate change. Climate Central reports that November in Philadelphia is, on average, 2? warmer than in 1970. Global warming causes disruptions in food supply during the Thanksgiving holiday season. Climate Central

Cover photo: Rising November temperatures, courtesy of Climate Central