Clean Philadelphia NOW Coalition Releases First In A 10-Part Series Of Videos On Illegal Dumping In Philadelphia Neighborhoods

On May 1, the Clean Philadelphia NOW Coalition announced the release of the first video in a new 10-part series that spotlights 10 tenacious Philadelphia community leaders who are fighting illegal dumping in their neighborhoods.

The first video features Nicetown block caption Joyce Brooks.

These 10 unsung heroes have been doggedly fighting for clean neighborhoods with lengthy and complicated battles against “legacy dumpsites” for as long as 20 years on a single site. 

The stories are delivered with aplomb, humor, grace, and often, hilarious creativity. All of the stories will be accompanied with solutions and best practices to address the problem.

Legacy Dumpsites are locations – often in residential neighborhoods – that are subject to an endless dump-and-clean cycle, due to the absence of adequate prevention and enforcement policies by the city government.

Clean Philadelphia NOW’s “End Legacy Dumping, Break the Cycle” citywide campaign calls for systemic change – prevention, abatement, enforcement, and education – to permanently end dumping in Philadelphia. 

The campaign is organized by Trash Academy and Block by Block Philly in coalition with neighborhood groups, engaged citizens, and nonprofits throughout the city.

In the first video, Joyce Brooks, a 57-year Nicetown resident and president of the Block Captains Committee of Nicetown, tells stories of the problems caused by illegal dumping in her neighborhood--

-- Dumping has been a problem in Nicetown for at least 15 years.

-- At age 79, the great grandmother feels that she can’t sit on her porch because of the raccoon problem on her block (and occasionally, right on her porch).

-- People regularly “short dump” trash bags on the sidewalk and against street poles every day of the week. She once watched someone walk right past the trash truck and leave a bag of trash on the ground.

-- Joyce closes with these words: “I’m sick of it. I’m tired of it. Enforcement action is the key here. It’s an epidemic and it must come to an end.”

Click Here to watch the video.

Videos will be posted every other Wednesday evening from now through September 3 on Trash Academy’s YouTube and the Instagram accounts of Trash Academy, and Block by Block.

Trash Academy led the creation of the video series, with the support of journalist Julia Lowe and graphic designer Leah Murphy. 

Each video will be followed with three posts (on Fridays and Wednesdays) with further explanation of both drivers and solutions to the unique dumping conundrum represented in the video.

Related Articles:

-- Keep PA Beautiful Seeking Volunteers To Become PA Waterway Stewards To Reduce Litter On Water Trails, Waterways  [PaEN] 

-- Conventional Oil & Gas Well Owners Continue To Push DEP To Legalize Road Dumping Their Wastewater  [PaEN] 

NewsClips:

-- Observer-Reporter: PennDOT, State Police Tout ‘Litter-Free’ Event In Washington County

-- Republican Herald: Schuylkill County Drug Take Back Day Collects 825 Pounds

-- PittsburghUnionProgress.com: Oakmont-Verona Glass Recycling Project Celebrates Milestone In Allegheny County

[Posted: May 1, 2025]  PA Environment Digest