PHILADELPHIA — Ruth Birchett never has her television or music blasting in her North Philadelphia home. She wants to be able to hear when large trucks intent on illegally dumping their loads drive through Hemberger Street behind her house.
"I listen for the trucks," she said. And when she hears them, she runs out with her key to the rear gate in one hand and her cell phone to take photos and call 311 in the other.
Over the last two years, according to the Streets Department, more than 13,000 tons of illegal waste have been dumped on thousands of sites spread throughout poor neighborhoods burying them in construction debris from housing renovations, used tires from auto shops and discarded household furnishings, much of it the result of evictions.
Most Philadelphia residents agree illegal dumping is a problem. A Lenfest Institute for Journalism/SSRS poll surveyed more than 1,200 people about the quality of life in the city, and 60 % of respondents believe that reducing dumping should be a top priority.
But the survey also highlights that the concern intensifies if you are low-income, Latino or Black. When asked to rate dumping as a priority among city services to prioritize over the next two years, almost seven out of 10 Latinos and Black residents, as well as those making less than $50,000 per year named illegal dumping as a top priority versus half of those who identified as white or Asian American/Pacific Islander.
And long-term residents, like Birchett, rated dumping a top priority more than others who had been in the city less than 10 years.
In short, illegal dumping is a nuisance that needs fixing for most Philadelphians , but for a subset of residents, the problem has reached become a festering public safety crisis.
"Illegal dumping has been an issue in certain spots but since the pandemic it has gotten worse," said Maria Gonzalez, president of HACE, a Fairhill-based community development corporation. Gonzalez said that even when an area is cleaned, another load is dumped often within two days. And with that trash comes "vermin, who live within the trash piles and needles."
"The neighborhood doesn't get relief. There continues to be some trash," Gonzalez said.
The city asks residents who see an illegal dumper in progress to call 911. Otherwise, they should call 311, the city's number for non-emergency problems, with a description of the people, the vehicle and the type of waste.
But Birchett, 70, who lives in the 1900 block of North 23rd Street, where she has been a block captain for eight years,said she has uploaded so many pictures of illegal dumping to 311 that she has lost count. It angers her that she and other taxpayers must pay for cleanup only to see dumpers return to unload mattresses, blocks of concrete and wood planks ripped out from rehabbed houses over and over again .
Illegal dumping is an equity issue
The neighborhoods hit hardest by illegal dumping tend to be areas with an abundance of vacant lots and less lighting and foot traffic than wealthier areas. City data shows that Strawberry Mansion, Kensington, Cobbs Creek and Southwest Philadelphia have become destinations for unscrupulous business people looking to avoid waste disposal fees.
City Councilmember Jamie Gauthier, who has created the #JustServicesPHL campaign to bring more money to basic quality of life issues, considers illegal dumping both a public safety and an equity issue, arguing there is a strong correlation between subpar city services and higher rates of violent crime.
"In certain neighborhoods this would not be allowed to happen," Gauthier said.
"The city doesn't have the capacity to police bad actors," she added. "I feel like in a sense they dump with impunity."
It is an issue that touches multiple city agencies from the District Attorney's Office to the Department of Licenses and Inspections but none target it as their top issue and efforts to coordinate long-term solutions have faltered.
And some of the illegal dumping problem may be a collateral impact of poverty.
"You have a person who is just trying to make a living doing clean-outs and they are trying to figure out how to make money without a lot of overhead," said Julie Slavet, executive director of the Tookany/Tacony-Frankford Watershed Partnership, Inc. (TTF).
"One other thing we always see, and it is heartbreaking, is that there are people living in the park and they are schlepping their stuff around with them until they can't," Slavet added.
Policing cleanliness
The city used to treat dumping as a low-level minor criminal offense. Now it is prosecuted as a misdemeanor at the least. It took decades for the city to increase fines, now up to $5,000 . Those found guilty of illegal dumping can have their vehicles seized under city code and face cleanup fees. Additionally, Pennsylvania law allows for six months of incarceration.
But prosecution of violators has decreased since the pandemic.
In 2019, the DA's office prosecuted 23 people on dumping charges, according to Jane Roh, a spokeswoman for the DA's Office. That number dropped to 13 in 2020 and down to one in 2021. In 2022, the number of dumping prosecutions totalled nine.
"The DA's Office cannot prosecute individuals who are not arrested by police," Roh said in an email.
What should the city do next?
Gilberto Gonzalez, a longtime community activist who lives in Lower Kensington, goes up to McVeigh Park to help clean it every other weekend.
"Kensington has been a dumping ground and a forgotten part of the city for a very long time," he said. "It's a shame. I think Kensington, more than any other part of the city has been so neglected by the politicians and elected leaders. This next mayor and City Council, they need to stop talking the political game and take action."
Gonzalez said that enforcement should be stronger to work as a deterrent to short dumpers. "I think enforcement should have teeth and real fines."
He added that he would like the next mayor to get tougher on contractors, install more cameras, especially around the parks, impose fines and seize contractors' trucks.
Slavet said that the blocking access to roads in the park have reduced illegal dumping.
"I've been here (at TTF) 12 years, and it's gotten better. We make it hard (for people) to get their vehicles in the park by adding gates."
Now Slavet thinks that enforcement should target the people who pay those who resort to illegal dumping.
"It's less about the guy making $100 (to do a clean out.) I'm more interested in the person who paid him. I don't think they live in Philadelphia. They are exploiting people who need work."
