The Litter Summit- Citywide cleanup on April 4th
Yesterday I got up extra early, rushed to the United Way building at 8 in the morning, and paid $24 to park for 3 hours and attend the Litter Summit hosted by Keep Philadelphia Beautiful. It was well worth all the trouble.
Keep Philadelphia Beautiful (KPB) is a non profit, local division of the national Keep American Beautiful organization. I would go into their mission, but it’s spelled out in their name. The board of directors includes the Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner of the streets department, a representative from Philadelphia Green, the director of Project NEAT, and a few others. The Executive Director, the face of KPB, and the woman behind much of the progress made in the last couple of years is Phoebe Coles.
Phoebe, besides the help of one intern, is more or less a one woman show, as many pointed out yesterday. Her main goal is to reduce litter and keep the streets clean. My favorite Mayor, Michael Nutter, also attended as well, and accepted an award for Philadelphia for our success in last year’s citywide cleanup.
It’s important to understand that just cleaning up other people’s litter will not keep the city clean. It’s most important to understand why people throw trash on the ground and educate people on the issues that arise from such behavior.
There are three major reasons that people litter, Mayor Jenny Stultz of Gastonia South Carolina explained at the Summit. The first is that he or she has no sense of ownership of the place they are littering. This would refer to someone who doesn’t take any pride in their own yard, neighborhood, or city let alone responsibility for the way it looks. The second is that he or she assumes there is someone who’s job it is to pick up the trash. A good example here would be people that leave their trash at their seats in a movie theater or sports arena. The third is that there is already existing trash there so instead of feeling like they are causing a problem, instead they are just adding to a problem that already existed.
In Philadelphia I believe we suffer from all three of these.
On April 4th we have our 2nd annual Citywide clean up. I urge everyone to come out and help. I will be at South Philly High School painting the fence and planting trees from 10-2 if you would like to join me.
If you have any questions or concerns about litter in your neighborhood, send them along.
In addition, there is proposed legislation about banning plastic bags and Styrofoam from our great city. Talk about a great solution to reducing litter. I hope you will all support!
Philadelphia Sustainability Awards at the Flower Show
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Yesterday was the type of day that you wanted to stay inside, under a blanket, sipping hot chocolate and venturing out only to, perhaps, shovel your sidewalk and deice your car to make the following day bearable. And, although schools and offices closed as well, it didn’t stop people from filling the seats at the convention center to attend the Pennsylvania Environmental Council’s Sustainability Award ceremony.
Hosted by an charismatic Patrick Starr from our local branch of PEC, the audience also welcomed local celebrities in the green community like Mark Alan Hughes, Philadelphia’s director of sustainability, and Jane Pepper, President of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society. Starr wanted to stress that though we are in the midst of major budget cuts and job losses, our city has lots to be proud of and is already in the top 10 in the nation of “green” cities. ( www.SustainLane.com )
From 70+ nominations of sustainable projects throughout Philadelphia and surrounding areas, we were presented with 12 finalists, and awards were given last night to the 5 winners. We are so proud to announce that Onion Flats won for their residential multi unit LEED Platinum Thin Flats, which we are currently in the process of listing. If you would like more information on Thin Flats, Onion Flats, or LEED Certified projects, email me at rlipton@phillycityspace.com!
The other winners are:
Philadelphia Eagles Go Green Project- Both Lincoln Financial field and the NovaCare Complex are running on 100% clean energy, the employees of which get reimbursed from purchasing clean energy from Peco. They also have replaced 1,000,000 plastic cups and 16 tons of plastic and foam flatware with corn based alternatives that easily biodegrade. Finally, they are actively recycling both in the field and supplying tailgaters with recycling bags for before and after the events.
ECA Environmental Coordinating Agency- offers to both commercial and residential consumers energy audits, installation of cool/green roofs and solar panels, insulation, and can help coordinate projects that strive for LEED certification.
Bob Pierson of Farm to City- Operates 15 farmers markets throughout Philadelphia and offers CSA (Community Sponsored Agriculture) projects that connect Philadelphia residents with our local farms all year long.
Schuylkill Banks Greenway- Almost an extension of the Kelly Drive/West River Drive walking/jogging/biking loop, this stretch of path along the Schuylkill River from MLK Boulevard to Locust Street also offers movie nights and water sports in the summer months. They are plans to extend this even further south in coming years.
If you attend the awards, and I recommend you do just to stay on top of the amazing projects that will take our great city into the next generation of sustainability, an added perk is free entry into the annual PHS Flower Show. The theme is Italy this year, and it’s a warm, aromatic, and beautiful treat I urge you all to take advantage of in this icy tundra we are living in this week!