Between icy conditions and pot holes, it’s been a headache for drivers in our areas to get around over the last few days. But for Philly residents who choose to walk, another obstacle has been piling up on the sidewalks…trash.
Bags and bags of post-Holiday garbage are piling up on curbs throughout the city after the snow and dangerous cold delayed trash pickup.
In what the city’s streets department are calling the “perfect storm,” post-Holiday excess trash combined with last week’s snow storm prevented crews from completing their normal trash pickups. Tuesday’s record-breaking cold delayed the pickup even further.
“The cold weather is not kind to a lot of our equipment,” said Donald Carlton, Deputy Commissioner of the Philadelphia Streets Department.
According to officials, the cold weather froze some of the equipment they used for trash pickup, putting them almost a full day behind schedule.
The streets department sent an alert on Tuesday asking people to be patient. Some residents say however that cold weather is no excuse.
“It’s littering the entire sidewalk,” said Sharon Lewis of Mt. Airy. “It looks terrible and it’s disgusting.”
“That’s what’s wrong with the city,” said Jeannette Why of Center City. “They’re slow!”
“I mean, I’m out here working,” said Adrienne Wright of Center City. “So I feel like they could pick it up a little bit.”
Officials with the Streets Department are telling residents to still put their trash and recycling goods out on the normal pickup day. Officials tell NBC10 they will get everything picked up by this weekend, even if it means working on Saturday.
“Please be a little patient,” said Carlton. “Understand that this extreme weather is something we did not want and did not look forward to.”
Photo Credit: NBC10.com