The Philadelphia Office of Clean and Green Initiatives will host its 18th annual Spring Cleanup on Saturday.
As Philadelphia’s largest city-wide, single-day cleanup, the April 5 event spans hundreds of locations and has included a total of 200,000 volunteers since its inception in 2008. Today, it is part of a larger effort by Mayor Cherelle Parker’s Office of Clean and Green Initiatives to remediate “persistent quality of life problems” like litter and graffiti "in the city's most underserved neighborhoods."
This year’s Spring Cleanup will include a variety of restoration efforts to help beautify the city. In addition to the goal of removing 100,000 pounds of trash, the Office of Clean and Green Initiatives aims to clean up 200 graffiti sites, remove 200 tires, plant 100 trees, tow 50 abandoned cars, and clean 25 vacant lots.
According to Director of Public Relations and Communications for the Office of Clean and Green Initiatives Keisha McCarty, this year’s Cleanup also seeks to address the challenge of illegal dumping, which has hurt Philadelphia neighborhoods for years.
“The longer something goes uncleaned, the longer you leave it, the more people think it is okay,” McCarty wrote in a statement to The Daily Pennsylvanian. “And then they start dumping as well and those hot spots start attracting more trash.”
A 2023 poll by the Philadelphia Inquirer found that 60% of respondents reported that reducing dumping should be a top priority for Philadelphia’s elected officials.
Through the annual Spring Cleanup, the office hopes to “raise awareness about litter prevention” and instill “neighborhood pride and civic responsibility” in residents.
“The Philly Spring Cleanup is a commitment to vibrant and livable neighborhoods to create partnerships with community organizations that help make our neighborhoods healthier and sustainable,” McCarty wrote.
The Spring Cleanup invites both individuals and groups to participate, either by registering a new project or joining an existing one.
As of Tuesday, over 600 projects have been registered with the office, whose goal is to get 5,000 volunteers involved. The office hopes for participation from 500 residential blocks, 20 commercial corridors, 15 recreation centers, and 10 schools.
The University City District will host one of many volunteer-led cleanup efforts, offering bags, rakes, and gloves to participants. The Cobbs Creek Park Ambassadors have also organized three cleanup projects in West Philadelphia.
“We encourage students, staff, and faculty to similarly participate in clean-ups in their own neighborhoods where they know the community well and have an extra interest in making an impact,” Penn Sustainability Director Nina Morris wrote in a statement to the DP.
Morris is also organizing a cleanup effort within her own South Philadelphia community, open to all who wish to join.
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