Philly Zero Waste

Sign the petition to get Philly recycling again!

We Need To Recycle
in Philadelphia

Our plan is…

  • Get Philly’s Streets Department to stop trashing recycling
  • Replace the Streets Commissioner
  • Stop Philly from burning its trash and recycling

This may seem like a big lift, but all of us together are able to put pressure on City government to correct the recycling system, replace the Streets Commissioner, and end the use of incineration, which is the more polluting option and disproportionately harms people of color, especially those in the City of Chester.

Our plan has tangible steps that we will take, so let’s dive into it!

Do you see trash & recycling dumped into the same trash truck?

Help us document when and where you see recycling and trash being collected together in the same trash truck. Report this here!

How does this help?
The Philadelphia Streets Department admitted in late 2020 that they were ordering sanitation workers to mix recycling with the trash when they’re short-staffed. They claim that this practice stopped in the Spring of 2021, and now deny that they are ordering sanitation workers to trash recycling. Collecting data, including photos and videos, helps prove this is still happening across the city. Sanitation workers have admitted that they are still sometimes being ordered to trash recycling.

Does documenting this put sanitation workers’ jobs at risk?
Nope! Sanitation Workers are following directions handed down by management. The Streets Department has publicly stated that workers jobs would not be at risk by documenting this, and is asking for reports on where recycling isn’t being collected properly.