Recycling collection falls ‘a few days behind’ as Philadelphia prioritizes trash removal

Philadelphia’s Department of Sanitation is a “few days behind” on collecting residents’ recycling as it prioritizes collecting trash that accumulated while sanitation workers went on strike earlier this month.

A spokesperson for the Office of Clean and Green Initiatives told The Inquirer in a statement Monday that the decision to prioritize trash collection over recycling is due to “health and safety concerns” and that the sanitation department is “experiencing a heavier volume of materials and increased locations with excess illegal dumping.”

“The Department apologizes for the inconvenience and thanks residents for their continued patience and cooperation. Crews are working as quickly as possible to catch up and return to a regular collection schedule,” the spokesperson said. “Residents are asked to please leave materials out for pickup. Residents can report missed collections to 311.”

It’s been almost two weeks since the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees District Council 33 ended its strike after reaching a tentative agreement with Mayor Cherelle L. Parker’s administration, which about 64% of voting members ratified Monday. More than 9,000 city employees, including sanitation workers, were on strike for eight days, causing garbage to pile up throughout the city.

Regular trash and recycling collection was set to resume on July 14, the city said.

But the recycling has still mounted in some places while crews chip away at the trash backlog. That environment would be less than ideal for any resident, but particularly for a newborn.

The recycling hasn’t been picked up since before the strike on the block where Jenna Countie, 31, and her husband live in Fishtown. They’ve been preparing for their baby’s imminent arrival, including clearing space and receiving packages and gifts. But there’s hardly anywhere to put more boxes out.

While Countie’s block has had its trash picked up, there’s still a lingering odor. Since much of the cardboard and plastic was festering with the overflowing trash for so long, the potent stench remains.

“It’s pretty awful,” she said.

Hannah Diebold, 37, another Fishtown resident waiting for recycling pickup, has been managing with some extra cans and storage of her own. She supported the striking workers and waited to take her extra recycling to a city drop-off until after the strike finished, but said she is looking forward to collections getting back to normal.

The biggest issue on her block has been the recent storms that pounded the recycling with wind and rain, sometimes blowing it around the street.

“You don’t want to bring it back into your house because it’s soaked … it’s not ideal all around,” she said.

During the strike, the Parker administration established many temporary dump sites throughout, but those often overflowed. The mounds of trash that accumulated during the strike as negotiations reached a standstill were dubbed “Parker piles.”

Private trash collection in certain areas of the city also mitigated some pileups during the strike.

Philadelphia City Councilmember Mark Squilla said Monday that trash collection seems to be back to normal, but he’s noticing some delays on recycling in most of his district, which includes parts of South Philadelphia and Center City, including Chinatown, Old City, Northern Liberties, and Fishtown.

He said most people have been understanding of the delay and that he sees sanitation department employees are chipping away at recycling daily — even this past Sunday, and hopes all collection issues will be resolved by the end of this week.

“Do we wish it was everybody was caught up instantly after the strike was over? Absolutely,” Squilla said. “Do we get some complaints and concerns? Yes, we do. But, you know, we continue to work with our sanitation department and going to the bad spots that seem to need a little more extra care.”

Some residents of Bella Vista were granted a recycling reprieve on Monday when trucks finally came for collection for the first time since the strike. According to Eugene Desyatnik, 47, of the Bella Vista Neighbors Association, residents were confused about the lack of pickup and communication from the city, and didn’t know what they were supposed to be doing with their recycling.

“It’s almost like a trash bingo, whose block gets collected,” he said.

When people have come to the BVNA with questions about recycling pickup, Desyatnik said they’ve told residents to stay patient, and urged them to use containers instead of just leaving bags on the street.

“They’ll get to it, just keep it contained,” he said.

A similar situation is playing out in other areas of the city. A spokesperson for Councilmember Jamie Gauthier, who represents West and Southwest Philadelphia, said her district is still seeing waste collection delays and some blocks have reported they haven’t had anything collected at all. Gauthier’s office is connecting with the sanitation department to address this issue.

Councilmember Anthony Phillips, who represents parts of Northwest and Northeast Philadelphia, said last week recycling was behind in his district but this week he is expecting an improvement.

And in the far Northeast, Councilmember Brian J. O’Neill said operations seem close to normal in his district, even the recycling crews who “have done just as well getting back up to speed as the trash crews.”

O’Neill, the lone Republican in City Council, praised the quick end to the strike (he remembers the 20-day long trash DC 33 strike in 1986) and members ratification of the tentative contract Monday.

“It’s kind of like they say, building the plane while you’re flying it,” O’Neill said. “There was no precedent for this.”