{"id":83,"date":"2018-12-12T17:05:00","date_gmt":"2018-12-12T22:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/water.phila.gov\/blog\/falls-rd-cleanup-2018\/"},"modified":"2022-12-03T11:47:17","modified_gmt":"2022-12-03T16:47:17","slug":"falls-rd-cleanup-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/water.phila.gov\/blog\/falls-rd-cleanup-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"Eye-Popping Schuylkill Cleanup Ends Banner\u00a02018"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a year that Philly took a coordinated stand<\/a> against waste and litter, one sustained effort along the Schuylkill River stood out, ending 2018 with a bang\u2014the kind of bang you get after\u00a0dropping a 245-ton<\/em>\u00a0dumpster<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

That's the total tonnage Philadelphia Water Department crews, City partners, and volunteers\u00a0removed from a targeted\u00a0area near the Falls Bridge during four cleanup days\u00a0that\u00a0stretched\u00a0from late September\u00a0to the first weekend of December.<\/p>\n

\"Cleanup<\/p>\n

Volunteers pitched in to help remove over 244\u00a0tons of trash from a problem area along the Schuylkill.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

It all started with a blockbuster three-day sweep<\/strong> that racked up 227 tons<\/strong> of waste in late September.<\/p>\n

On December 1, we joined volunteers and fellow City departments for a fourth cleanup day focusing on smaller debris, tires, and accumulated litter that was either dumped there or had blown into the area from surrounding neighborhoods.<\/p>\n

That event heaped another 17.2 tons<\/strong> on for the 244.9-ton\u00a0total<\/strong>, about what you would have if 32,700 Philly households each dumped a 15-pound bag of garbage along Falls Road<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

We organized the massive cleanup effort after learning about a short-dumping site where construction debris, tires, and litter were piled high. Located near the Falls Bridge and very close to our two Schuylkill drinking water intakes, the discovery of the illegal trash along Falls Road launched an effort (spearheaded here\u00a0by PWD Environmental Engineer Maria Horowitz<\/a>) to team up with City and private partners and take action.<\/p>\n

The workforce of people on the ground filing trash bags and trucks with litter and tires included citizen volunteers brought there through a three-year partnership our department has forged with the Philly-based outfitter United By Blue<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In 2018 alone, United By Blue and PWD collaborated on 12 volunteer cleanups, with the December Falls Road event marking the\u00a0final collaboration\u00a0of the year.\u00a0The 17-plus tons collected that day made the annual total\u00a0of trash and recycling picked up by volunteers 422,324 pounds. Just under 1,100 people volunteered for the 2018 litter hauls.<\/p>\n

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A post shared by Philadelphia Water Dept. (@phillyh2o)<\/a> on