City controller’s office releases data on trash collection in Philadelphia
PHILADELPHIA - Some Philadelphia residents are dealing with a smelly situation. They say the amount of trash on their streets is disgusting and feel other neighborhoods are better taken care of.
Sandra Braxton lives by 55th and Spruce in West Philly and locked right in on a new report from the city that says trash collection across city neighborhoods and regions is well garbage.
"If I put it out on a Thursday night for Friday, I think one time it was picked up on a Sunday or that following Monday," she said.
Of course, that can make the smell unbearable.
The controller’s office looked at trash pickup data from the last few years and found that while COVID-19 made delays worse in many areas there were issues before that.
Philadelphia City Controller Rebecca Rhynhart says her team found an ugly truth in the numbers.
"If you look at the years before the pandemic, Center City and Northeast Philly have on time rates 90% or higher while areas of South Philadephia, West Philly and Northwest have rates much lower, 65 to 75% on time, and that’s not right," she explained.
Administration officials say the Streets Department has long been aware of the delays due to the major increase in curbside tonnage and staffing shortages related to the pandemic. The controller says it’s high time for a fix.
"What we need is a strategy from the mayor’s office from management to address the inequality in this," Rhynhart said.
The mayor’s office tells FOX 29 they just received the controller’s report Thursday and they’re reviewing it. They can’t comment on the specifics of the data but say the city is committed to continuing to collect trash and deploying sanitation despite significant logistical and operational issues confronted over the past year and a half.
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