Authorizing the Committee on Streets and Services to conduct hearings to examine the current status of trash and recycling pickups, and examine ways to improve how this vital service is performed, and how to ensure the job is seen as the community-minded career path it should be.

WHEREAS, Philadelphia is home to over 1.58 million residents, all of whom generate waste and recycling every day; and

WHEREAS, Residential waste and recycling collections occur at more than 540,000 households per week; and

WHEREAS, Philadelphia households and businesses generate approximately 2.2 million tons of waste each year; and

WHEREAS, The shift from commercial waste to residential waste resulting from the work from home mandates has placed more of the burden on the Sanitation department; and

WHEREAS, Sanitation workers, overwhelmingly from the communities of color, are disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic; and

WHEREAS, COVID-19 has created a series of additional challenges for sanitation workers as they manage increased loads and demands while living in the neighborhoods most impacted by the pandemic; and

WHEREAS, Sanitation workers are essential to a functioning city, we propose investigating best practices, current conditions, and employment trends to make sure a non-negotiable service can continue to be faithfully provided; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, THAT The City Council of Philadelphia, Hereby authorizes the Committee on Streets and Services to conduct hearings to examine the current status of trash and recycling pickups and examine ways to improve how this vital service is performed and how to ensure the job is seen as the community-minded career path it should be.

End