Mayor Cherelle Parker announced the conclusion of the Philadelphia city workers strike today. The strike began on Tuesday, July 1. After negotiations, the City and AFSCME District Council 33 (DC 33) have reached a tentative agreement on a new three-year contract that will provide a more fair compensation for municipal employees. Following the conclusion of the strike, all City departments are now preparing to resume normal operations.

Normal curbside trash and recycling collections will resume on Monday, July 14. Temporary dumpster sites will be transitioned out and shut down on a rolling basis. Residents can stay updated on the list of sites here. Dumpster sites will be staffed with trash compactors and crews temporarily as the residual trash and debris is cleaned up.

Residents are urged to use the six Sanitation Convenience Centers. The centers will be open 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. through Friday. On Saturday and Sunday, they will be open 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Beginning Monday, July 14 they will resume normal operations, Monday through Saturday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.

For more information on the new agreement and the schedule for resuming other city services, please click here.

Trash drop-off at 50th and Locust. (Photo by West Philly Local)

Some 9,000 city workers – from trash collectors to 911 call center operators and school crossing guards – voted to strike early this morning, demanding higher wages and improved health and pension benefits.

The strike, which 95 percent of union members voted for, will impact a host of services. Health centers across the city will be closed and the Philadelphia Water Department will stop repair and maintenance services, among other service disruptions.

It’s the first walk-out strike in the city in 39 years. That strike lasted 20 days.

The city has established trash drop-off sites across the city. You can start dropping trash off there today at 5 p.m. After today, they will be open Monday through Saturday from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Here’s a searchable map that will locate the nearest temporary trash drop-off site and recycling collection center (see more on recycling below).

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The Streets Department is experiencing trash and recycling collections delays because of the recent COVID-19 surge, according to a recent announcement by Streets Commissioner Carlton Williams. These challenges are expected to continue in the following weeks as the Department is working through COVID-19 infections and quarantining in their workforce. Currently, there are only slight delays in trash collection and recycling is a day or more behind in some areas.

Residents are advised to continue to set trash and recycling materials out on their regular day. Residents can track the progress of collections on their block by clicking on the PickupPHL tab at streetsmartphl.phila.gov. Updates can also be found at phila.gov/streets and on social media. Continue Reading

Trash and recycling collections in the city will continue experiencing delays this week, according to an announcement by Streets Commissioner Carlton Williams. The delays are caused by the COVID pandemic: there are higher levels of residential trash tonnage due to people remaining in their homes for extended periods of time, as well as staff shortages.

This week, recycling collections across the city may be experiencing additional delays as Streets Department crews have been focusing on picking up trash first to help mitigate health risks and attracting rodents. Continue Reading

Trash and recycling collections will be one day behind schedule for the duration of this week (June 7-12). Residents are asked to set their trash and recycling items out one day after their regular collection day.

Delays in collections are due to the trash volume from the Memorial Day holiday and the severe weather during the week of May 31st. Today, Streets Department crews were working to collect Friday’s materials left over from last week.

UPDATE (2/18/2021, 7:35 p.m.): The snow emergency has been lifted. It’s now allowed to park vehicles along snow emergency routes.

(2/17/2021): Another storm is approaching the Philadelphia area and is expected to bring up to 6 inches of snow. The City has declared a snow emergency beginning at 6 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 18. Be sure to move your vehicle to a safe location if it’s been parked on a snow emergency route. The list of snow emergency routes can be found here.

If your car has been towed, call 215-686-SNOW to locate it.  Continue Reading