UnLitter Us

Litter is causing an uproar on the Philly internets. We addressed the causes, frustrations and potential solutions for Philadelphia's litter in our blog post last week, Why is Philly so Dirty? The Litter Epidemic. Insightful reader comments sparked conversation about citizen attitude, neighborhoods with paid personnel  and plastic pollution. On April 24th, Jared Shelly, Digital Producer of Philadelphia Business Journal shared a Twitter explosion after he asked Mayor Nutter about the city's plan for litter on the streets. Mayor Michael Nutter originially responded

Let’s face it: our city has a notorious reputation for being dirty. Don’t believe me? Walk the streets of London for a few hours or ride the metro in DC. Return to Philly and compare. But when people talk about Philly being dirty, they’re often referring to our litter problem. Yet litter is such a large, debated topic. How do we combat litter? Do we concentrate efforts on educating people or cleanup efforts after the fact? Neighborhoods with litter tend to have higher crime rates, lower property values and less pride in the neighborhood. In order to get a more insight on Philly’s litter, I asked the City of Philadelphia, a few friends and associates about their experiences with trash in the city. Find out more about our city's litter epidemic, after the jump.

Looks like the city is continuing to "Unlitter Us!" - this time with damaged bikes clogging up the racks. The Philadelphia Streets Department announced that they're removing "abandoned' bicycles throughout Center City & surrounding areas starting in early summer.  "Abandoned bikes" are classified as: (find out more, after the jump!)

70% of South of South residents (surveyed) are having their wishes answered: More BigBelly solar waste units are coming to South Philly. The South Philly Review reported residents from the area stretching from South Street to Washington Avenue and west of Broad Street were surveyed and requested more

After I recently returned on a 2+ week journey to Australia (more on that later...), I was walking over the Whole Foods... and couldn't help but notice how beautiful our trashcans were in Philly. Say whattt? I'm not crazy. As a part of the Street Department's UnLitter Us movement, Litter Critter BigBelly trash compactors were designed and painted by artists & students as a part of Mural Arts’ Big Picture Program in part to celebrate Earth Month. The decorated BigBellies were painted to (Click through for the story and more pretty pictures!)

From a Trashion Show to Mural Arts on Trash Trucks, Philly had quite an array of celebrations yesterday for the 40th celebration of Earth Day! Here's some photos, links & a video for your re-cap pleasure: Philadelphia Streets Department debuted 10 Mural recycling trucks like this one, with lots of abstract Philly scenery: This truck definitely looks like Spring & will hopefully motivate citizens to get Philly clean: This truck reminds me of Fall: