{"id":596,"date":"2015-04-21T15:58:00","date_gmt":"2015-04-21T19:58:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/water.phila.gov\/blog\/earth-day-exhibit-reveals-phillys-trash-problem\/"},"modified":"2022-12-03T13:39:55","modified_gmt":"2022-12-03T18:39:55","slug":"earth-day-exhibit-reveals-phillys-trash-problem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/water.phila.gov\/blog\/earth-day-exhibit-reveals-phillys-trash-problem\/","title":{"rendered":"Earth Day Exhibit Reveals Philly’s Trash Problem"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Artist
\nArtist Bradley Maule works on his “One Man's Trash” exhibit. Fairmount Water Works photo.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Anyone who\u2019s taken the time to enjoy the many scenic opportunities afforded by Philly\u2019s waterways has had that moment\u2014you\u2019re soaking in the green and sunshine, marveling at the natural beauty of a river or stream cutting through the urban landscape. And then, some ugly piece of litter breaks the mirage, reminding you that you are, indeed, still in a very big city. One with a trash problem.<\/p>\n

Bradley Maule, a Pennsylvania native and Philly transplant, has had that moment more times than he cares to count. Like many nature lovers, he often had the impulse to pick up litter someone else carelessly dropped while hiking along one of his favorite haunts, the Wissahickon Creek in the city\u2019s Northwest. His distaste for the pervasive trash, though, soon morphed into a sort of obsession. Out of this obsession was born \u201cOne Man\u2019s Trash,\u201d the latest exhibit at our Fairmount Water Works<\/a>(Sorry, this content is no longer available)<\/em>, which opens (quite appropriately) for today\u2019s Earth Day festivities.<\/p>\n

The first in a series of \u201cCulture and Conversation\u201d events that celebrate the Water Works\u2019 200th anniversary, \u201cOne Man\u2019s Trash\u201d is the culmination of a year\u2019s worth of trash collected by Maule during weekly walks in Wissahickon Valley Park, an 1,800-acre wooded gem with the Wissahickon Creek at its heart. The Mt. Airy resident and artist laid out his plans for the project on his website, Philly Skyline<\/a>, and described his yearlong effort for readers:<\/p>\n

\n

Each week, once a week, for all of 2014, I went on 2-3 hour hikes, picking up all the litter I encountered. If something was too big to haul out, I made a note of it on my phone\u2019s text app and made arrangements to remove it with Philadelphia Parks and Recreation <\/a>and Friends of the Wissahickon<\/a>, the official partners on this project.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Luckily for us, Maule drew the line at picking up \u201corganic litter\u201d\u2014a distinction that means we don\u2019t have to look at a display of rotting apple cores or bags of dog waste!<\/p>\n

The Water Works will unveil Maule\u2019s work, which includes infographics reflecting his meticulous tally of collected litter, during a 5:30 p.m. opening reception. The exhibit will be on display through June 26, after which all the junk he\u2019s collected will be recycled, donated and otherwise disposed of.<\/p>\n

“A timely exhibit for Earth Day, \u2018One Man's Trash\u2019 brings to the forefront the amount of litter accrued on land, and provides an insightful look into how our behavior truly affects our water supply,” says Karen Young, executive director of Fairmount Water Works.<\/p>\n

When asked what he wants people to take away from the exhibit, Maule says he wants to inspire \u201c\u2026deeper consideration for the waste we each generate\u201d and to foster awareness \u201cthat we need to treat our parks better.\u201d In addition to compiling all the trash, he took time to look at the broader waste tied to a specific trail-side menace: the plastic water bottle.<\/p>\n

“One of the most common objects I encountered over the course of the year was plastic water bottles\u2014255 of them (with 43 brand names),” Maule told us. Maule also says his focus on the Wissahickon underscored a troubling connection between littering in parks and fouling up our waterways. “Almost all of Philly's big parks \u2014 Fairmount, Wissahickon, Pennypack, Cobbs, Tacony, Poquessing\u2014exist where they do because of watersheds,” notes Maule. “Unless it's picked up and properly disposed of, litter ultimately ends up in our waterways, whether directly in a place like the Wissahickon, or after a journey from city streets through gutters and sewers.”<\/p>\n

Click here to register for the \u201cOne Man\u2019s Trash exhibit<\/a>. The event is free, but space is limited.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Anyone who\u2019s taken the time to enjoy the many scenic opportunities afforded by Philly\u2019s waterways has had that moment\u2014you\u2019re soaking in the green and sunshine, marveling at the natural beauty of a river or stream cutting through the urban landscape. And then, some ugly piece of litter breaks the mirage, reminding you that you are, indeed, still in a very big city. One with a trash problem.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"custom_css":"","custom_js":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[21,35,36,112,113],"class_list":["post-596","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-community-groups","tag-event","tag-fairmount-water-works","tag-wissahickon-creek","tag-wissahickon-watershed","wpautop"],"acf":{"suggested":null},"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/phila.gov\/blog\/earth-day-exhibit-reveals-phillys-trash-problem\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Earth Day Exhibit Reveals Philly’s Trash Problem","url":"http:\/\/water.phila.gov\/blog\/earth-day-exhibit-reveals-phillys-trash-problem\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/water.phila.gov\/blog\/earth-day-exhibit-reveals-phillys-trash-problem\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":""},"articleSection":"Uncategorized","author":[],"creator":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"@PhillyH2O Blog","logo":""},"keywords":["community groups","event","fairmount water works","wissahickon creek","wissahickon watershed"],"dateCreated":"2015-04-21T19:58:00Z","datePublished":"2015-04-21T19:58:00Z","dateModified":"2022-12-03T18:39:55Z"},"rendered":"