Winter is just around the corner. Philadelphia’s Sanitation Department has felt the pressure since Mayor Cherelle Parker’s appointment to make the city the cleanest, greenest, safest city in the nation with economic opportunity for all as the department works to keep the streets clean for the winter terrain and resolve quality of life concerns to the frontline

Sanitation Commissioner Crystal Jacobs Shipman and Sanitation Assistant Administrator Faruq Scott joined P.O.C and talked about the 2024 Philly Leaf Recycling Program. The program has been extended an additional week, highlighting the city’s priorities of mitigating the “filthadelphia” moniker and distinctly working to “focus on trash collections, illegal dumping, and beautification.” 

“The pressure is there,” added Jacobs. “[We want] to show our residents that we’re capable and to give them something to look forward to…I think when people come out of their homes in the morning and they see a clean and decent sidewalk, [their] whole outlook is different. Your whole approach to your day is different. And so I’m happy that our department gets to take the lead.”

The Philly leaf recycling program, as Scott explains, is an annual program where the department concentrates six weeks of cleaning in its most densely tree-populated areas and recycles the raked leaves they collect to keep them out of water streams. It has added a seventh week in Center City this year. 

The Sanitation department had recently moved under theThe Office of Clean and Green Initiatives, further exemplifying how its operations are changing under the current mayoral administration. It’s now concerned with less street department work, such as potholes, broken street or traffic lights, and now focuses on beautification and quality of life issues for the city. 

As the conversation continues, the department addresses the uptick of illegal dumping and the department’s mutli-pronged approach to the issue. The feature is a revived program where residents can request heavy, bulk appliances such as refrigerators, ovens, or other appliances for a free pick up and removal from your home. 

For more information on sanitation, beautification you can listen to the full episode on SoundCloud below.