Philly has a litter problem, and community organizations are trying different solutions based on their capacity and needs.

The Frankford Community Development Corporation (CDC) has teamed up with the PhillyRising Collaborative, an initiative to coordinate government action at the neighborhood-level, to provide 50 trash cans and 50 recycling bins to residents living between the 4300 and 5200 blocks of Frankford Avenue.

The litter problem on this stretch of Frankford Avenue is specific to mixed residential and commercial corridors. Residents living above the businesses have used public trash cans for household waste. This has led to overstuffed trash cans and sidewalk space around the cans becoming littered and cluttered with trash bags, explained Kim Washington, executive director and commercial corridor manager at the Frankford CDC.

The CDC began talking in February, 2014 with the Frankford Neighborhood Advisory Committee (NAC) and PhillyRising to figure out how to deal with this problem.

“We we’re trying to think of a way to get the residents to not illegally dump their household trash in bins that are meant for pedestrian use,” Washington said.

The partnership settled on providing new bins to residents and educating them about better waste disposal practices.

PhillyRising purchased the receptacles from Lowe’s Home Improvement through a grant. Frankford CDC will track the corridor’s progress and how frequently the cans are used. If the program is successful, it will be expanded to other parts of the neighborhood.

Residents were required to attend a litter reduction seminar on April 19 at the San Kofa Charter School to receive the receptacles. They were also required to sign a litter reduction pledge.

(Image via Terry Robinson)