Get involved in the Trash and Recycling Committee! We aim to help reduce litter and increase recycling in Passyunk Square through volunteer cleanups, educational efforts, fundraising for professional street cleaning service and other activities. You can help by attending our cleanups, which take place on the first Saturday of every month at 9am at Gold Star Park on Wharton St between 6th and 7th streets.  We provide brooms, bags and gloves- we just need you!

Trash Information

General Information
City Trash Collection information website and Customer Affairs hotline: 215-686-5560, or call 311 for missed pickups or other problems.

Collection Day
Check here for everything you need to know including which day is your collection day, set out times, proper containers, bulk items and more: http://www.phila.gov/streets/trash_collection.html

Trash should be placed out between 7pm the night before and 7am the day of collection. To avoid additional litter problems, please put out your trash in a sturdy container with a lid. Please also remember that after a bank holiday, trash service will be delayed by a day.

Report illegal dumping at 215-685-3097 or by calling 311.

Block Captains
The Philadelphia More Beautiful Committee organizes approximately 6,300 block captains around the city to help with block cleanings and neighborhood beautification. To learn more, or to sign up to become a block captain, call 215-685-3981.

Recycling Information

Recycling is not only good for the environment by helping to reduce air and water pollution and conserving energy and natural resources, it’s also good for the economy! Recycling in Philadelphia is cheaper than trash removal- so it saves precious tax dollars! The more you recycle, the more the city saves!

General Information
City of Philadelphia Recycling Office website: www.recyclingpays.phila.gov
Recycling Alliance of Philadelphia- RecycleNOW Philly website- www.recyclenowphilly.org

Collection Day
Recycling Collection is now EVERY WEEK on the same day as trash day.

Single Stream
All of South Philly now receives single stream recycling- which means you can put all your recyclables, including plastics and cardboard, in one bin. Accepted materials in single stream include:

• Paper- junk mail, newspapers, office paper, lightweight cardboard such as cereal boxes, magazines:
• Aluminum and tin cans
• Glass jars and containers
• Plastics #1 and #2- mostly beverage containersCorrugated cardboard- flattened and not contaminated with food waste

Bins
You do not need a city issued bin in order to recycle. Any sturdy container less than 20 gallons can serve as a recycling bin- just mark it clearly with the word RECYCLING. Or call the Recycling Office at 215-685-RECYCLE request a RECYCLING sticker to put on your own bin.

If you want a blue bin, you can pick one up from a city sanitation yard, or at a local recreation center. A list of locations can be found here: http://64.78.36.115/res_getbin.asp

Feel free to contact Christine at trash@passyunksquare.org if you need help acquiring a bin.

Fines
Recycling is mandatory in Philadelphia and residents who do not participate can be subjected to fines. City SWEEP officers occasionally do inspections and can levy $25 fines to residents who are found with recyclables in their trash.

Litter Information
Litter has many negative impacts on our community. Litter clogs up our storm drains, worsening the flooding problem in the neighborhood. The presence of litter on streets reduces property values. Like graffiti and broken windows, it also sends the signal that our neighborhood is unsafe- inviting drug dealers and other criminals into the area.

How can you help fight litter?

1. Clean up your street- Make an effort to pick up trash in front of and around your property. Set an example for your neighbors and encourage them to sweep their property too. Teach your kids not to litter.
2. Join the PSCA volunteer cleanups on the first Saturday of every month at Gold Star Park on Wharton St between 6th and 7th streets.
3. Put a No-Circular sticker on your property. One of the major sources of litter is restaurant flyers and other circulars. By putting up a sticker, you can cut down on the chances of those flyers becoming street litter. To get a form, call 311, or call L&I at 215-685-3731 or fill out this form and mail or fax it in. You can also contact Christine at trash@passyunk.org for a sticker.
4. Donate to the Passyunk Square Civic Association to help us pay for anti-litter efforts, including paying for professional street cleaning

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