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South of South receives BigBelly cans

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As pieces of paper and plastic bottles blow down the street with a gust of wind, it’s no wonder trash and litter have become two major neighborhood concerns. With an increase in recycling and the implementation of single streaming, improvements have been made, but more may be needed. 

When residents in the South of South Neighborhood Association catchment area, which spans the area from South Street to Washington Avenue and west of Broad Street, were surveyed last year, a vast percentage identified trash and litter as two challenges with about 70 percent requesting more trash and recycling receptacles, so the association has been hard at work developing a solution for these problems and granting that request.

So far, three BigBelly solar waste units have been installed with one each at 19th and Christian streets, 23rd and Christian streets and 18th and Catharine streets, but more are in the works with contributions from area residents.

“It was the first trash can and recycling can in the interior of this neighborhood that was maintained by the City,” the civic’s program coordinator, Andrew Dalzell, said about the unit outside the association’s office at 1901 Christian St.

Resident maintained trash bins often have bored the brunt of the neighborhood waste.When Dalzell first met with the City’s Streets Department, the task ahead seemed daunting. Informed about the realities of the budget, the department had no intention to bring trash cans let alone expensive ones to areas where they didn’t already exist, especially predominantly residential neighborhoods.

“They would love to be able to provide them, they just don’t have the money,” the resident of the 2000 block of Fitzwater Street said. “And, that’s where we had this need and desire from our neighbors, the reality from the Streets Department, and we had to reconcile the two.”

A partnership soon developed. If the civic raised the appropriate funds, the City promised to be responsible for their installation and maintenance. The association purchased the first “intelligent waste-collection system” outright in February before Phase I of their Clean and Green: BigBelly Campaign. More than 90 individual donations ranging from $5 to $250 including a matching grant from an anonymous donor raised $9,000 to finance the latter two, which were set up just two months ago.

The retail value of the double unit — the solar trash compactor and recycler — runs anywhere from $5,000 to $7,000, Scott McGrath, environmental services director for the Streets Department, said. Because the City purchases them in bulk, the rate for the combined receptacle with wireless communication, technical support and a four-year extended warranty costs significantly less at $4,500.

Of the city’s 850 BigBelly cans, 380 have recyclers attached, June Cantor, a Streets Department spokeswoman, said. More than 450 span Center City while 48 are located on South Broad Street and along East Passyunk Avenue south of Washington Avenue. The BigBellies in Center City and within business corridors were purchased over a period of three years and dispersed in 2009 and ’10 with funding from grants including the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, the Commerce Department and the U.S. Department of Energy.

“We want to use them where the high industry areas are, where you have the most foot traffic, generally the residential areas don’t generate enough material to make that kind of investment worthwhile,” McGrath said.

One of the reasons the department generally steered clear of residential areas  because people often place their household trash next to the receptacle. Stamping bumper stickers and making people aware of their actions has helped resolved this issue.
“Somebody can’t come by and basically render it unusable to everyone else,” Dalzell said about the benefits of BigBelly cans.

Knowing they aren’t a cure all, the organization recently teamed up with Keep Philadelphia Beautiful to establish an anti-litter campaign. The group plans on applying the four Es: Integrating enhancements, empowering residents to take ownership of their block, educating youth and adults alike and enforcing said policies.

“We need to work on all of these things and the BigBelly is just one component of a much larger strategy,” he said.

Phase II of the campaign includes Julian Abele Park, 22nd and Carpenter streets, and Nunez Market, 16th and Christian streets.

“The goal is that everyone is in two to three blocks of a BigBelly,” Dalzell said. Although the city hasn’t actively sought implementation in residential areas, according to McGrath, they aren’t against it either.

“We always try to be innovative,” he said. “So, if people have different ideas of what to do whether it’s along a business corridor or in a residential community, we are always open to listen to their ideas.”
This neighborhood, in particular because of its closeness to Center City, was fairly easy to incorporate into the city’s collection route.

The 1901-Christian-St. location has only one less pickup per week than a Center City site, perhaps solidifying the need in residential neighborhoods. In the past six months, this can alone was collected 31 times with 400 compactions, Dalzell said. Heavier traveled locations including business areas such as Walnut or South streets usually have pickups about three times per week, whereas its wire can predecessor was generally cleaned out approximately 17 times per week. Holding four to five times the amount of trash than a regular wire can, the solar containers are also more economically friendly while keeping waste contained. 

With just three in the vicinity, residents have already started to see a difference. The system has made significant improvements so far, Peg Talbot-Lane, association board member, said.

“They are working,” the resident of the 2300 block of Christian Street said. “I have a little tree garden out front and it would just be packed with trash and I’m not seeing that right now.”

Stopping to educate a group of interested teens outside the Christian Food Market, she also noticed they are now using the cans more frequently.

“They can take that back home and talk to their parents about it and we can get it from the root level up,” she said.

To make a donation to Phase II, visit www.greeningsosna.org or mail or drop it off at the SOSNA office. SPR

Contact the South Philly Review at editor@southphillyreview.com.

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