Philly strike: When will regular trash pickup resume?

PHILADELPHIA - Piles of trash have piled up along the streets of Philadelphia for nearly 10 days after thousands of city workers walked off the job last week.

However, the City of Philadelphia has reached a tentative deal with the union, signaling an end to the District Council 33 strike and a return to regular city services, including trash collection.

What we know:

Officials say residents can start putting their trash out again starting on Monday when the city resumes its regular trash collection schedule.

"It will be collected by the great men and women of District Council 33," said Carlton Williams, director of Clean and Green Initiatives.

Residents are being urged not to return to the public disposal sites set up during the strike.

Those sites are being cleared out and shut down in the coming days.

However, officials say compactors will be stationed at each site to collect and clear any trash that is brought to those locations during the transition.

Residents with trash collection days scheduled prior to Monday can bring their trash to the city's six sanitation convenience centers.

Those sites are in the Northeast, Northwest Philly, Port Richmond, SW Philly, Strawberry Mansion and West Philly.

What they're saying:

City officials are asking residents for patience as they transition back to a normal trash schedule, and "get the city back in the right direction."

They are also warning against illegal dumping, saying that cameras will be installed at all temporary collection sites beginning on Wednesday.

"Anyone who has the audacity to come in and dump in our city, you will be fined $5,000 per item, per incident," Williams said. "We are not playing. You will not come in and take advantage of the situation and dirty up our city."

What you can do:

Residents have expressed concerns about excessive odors as the trash has continued to pile up over the past several days, creating a major trash problem for parts of the city.

Officials say they will provide extensive cleaning services to address the issue. They are also asking residents to report any trash dumping they find outside the temporary collection sites by calling 311.

The backstory:

The City of Philadelphia and District Council 33 reached a tentative agreement on a new deal early Wednesday morning after a weeklong standstill and rounds of contract negotiations.

The three-year contract agreement will increase pay for District Council 33 members by 14 percent over Mayor Cherelle Parker's 4 years in office. It also includes a one-year extension of the contract agreed to last Fall. 

District Council 33 represents over 9,000 city workers in several critical departments, including sanitation, water, and 911 dispatchers.

The union took to the picket lines on July 1 after a midnight deadline to find a new contract came and went without a deal.

With sanitation workers on strike, Parker said there would be no trash pick-up and Philly residents would have to haul their garbage to a dedicated dumping site.

This caused mounds of trash to pour out of dumpsters and overwhelm sidewalks, as the city struggled to make up for the absence of its sanitation department.

The strike also meant service disruptions to Philadelphia's water department for things like water main breaks and street cave-ins.

In the heat of summer, over a dozen Philadelphia pools were forced to close, and recreation centers needed to cut hours.

Mayor Cherelle Parker tried to entice union members with an offer that included a 12% wage increase, which she said is the largest given out by a Philadelphia mayor in their first term over the last 30 years.

That wasn't enough to pull union members from the picket lines, and the strike as both sides would not budge on their concessions. 

PhiladelphiaNews