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U.S. NEWS Monday 30 July 2018

No more 'Filthadelphia'? City tackles its litter problem

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Phila-
delphia has been trying for
decades to tackle its litter
problem and shed itself of
the nickname Filthadel-
phia.
In June, the city and citizen
groups tackled one small
piece of the big litter puzzle:
the posting of illegal signs.
Citizens collected over
8,500 signs from around the
city in the action billed as
the Bandit Signs Brigade.
In the fall, the signs will be
transformed by local artists
and designers into some-
thing useful.
"These signs often end up
as litter, and a littered com-
munity is bad for residents
and bad for business," said
Nic Esposito, director of the
City's Zero Waste and Litter
Cabinet. This July 18, 2018, photo shows illegally posted signs collected by citizens groups, in Philadelphia.
The city paid groups 50 Associated Press
cents per sign, which
ranged from music flyers on finding and fining the
to predatory offers to buy culprits.
houses and cars, plastered The city is working with Trash
to utility poles and traffic Academy — a project of
signs across the city. Mural Arts Philadelphia,
Mayor Jim Kenney created which describes itself as the
the Zero Waste and Lit- nation's largest public art
ter Cabinet two years ago program — to transform the
take on the problem, and signs into something useful.
this year the group unveiled It is be part of a series of
31 short- and long-term Trash Academy art projects
recommendations on what that highlight the need to
Philadelphia describes as eliminate single use plastics
"a bold goal of becoming from the waste stream.
90 percent zero waste and The Trash Academy started
litter-free by 2035." in summer 2015, spurred
Although not the high- by a community meeting
est priority, the illegal signs in south Philadelphia, said
were something the cabi- Shari Hersh, a project man-
net had funding to tackle, ager at Mural Arts.
and the roundup was a fun "Above all else, more than
way to create awareness, green space, more than
Esposito said. anything, the community
"Putting up signs in public was most concerned about
spaces is a big issue, es- trash," she said. So the Trash
pecially predatory signs," Academy was born, work-
Esposito said. "People feel ing with neighborhoods on
disrespected and preyed education, grassroots orga-
upon." nizing and creating inno-
By the end of the two vative solutions to address
weeks, over 1,000 signs trash. Right now, the group
seeking to buy junk cars is still trying to determine
were collected. The pen- what could be created out
alty for posting such signs is of the signs, and is working
$300 per sign for the first of- with a design shop that en-
fense and up to $2,000 per gages with communities on
sign for the second offense. public art. It will reach out
For folks advertising their to the public to help create
businesses or music events, the works during Mural Arts
the group just gives a call week in October. "It's im-
to let them know such post- portant to raise awareness,"
ings are illegal, which can she said, "that whether you
come as a surprise, Esposi- use these signs for good or
tio said. But for the preda- bad, they are going to be
tory signs, it intends to work litter or in the landfill."q