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South Street Headhouse District debates removing trashcans due to short dumping
South Street Headhouse District is considering doing away with trashcans on South Street due to short dumping and residents have wavering opinions.
PHILADELPHIA - South Street is eeclectic and splashed with color and even after the New Year it's still festive.
Keeping it stylish is the easy part, but some may say keeping it clean is a challenge.
"You just can't dictate morality. People are going to do it," said Tony Carlo, a 17-year-old resident of the South Street area.
Carlo is talking about short dumping.
Residents are accused of using street side trash cans as a place to dump bags of their household garbage.
In this case, the South Street Headhouse Districts says this is where the offenders are putting it in.
In red wire trash cans that the South Street Headhouse District pays to have in the area. FOX 29 saw one filled with cardboard boxes and a black trash bag next to it.
Mayor Cherelle Parker takes aggressive approach to illegal dumping with new clean and green initiatives
Under Mayor Cherelle Parker's clean and green initiatives team, Director Carlton Williams said there will be more investigations, prosecutions, and heftier fines for what’s called "short dumping."
"Fine them," said a resident.
The trash cans are filling up with garbage from people’s homes or businesses leaving no room for people walking or shopping South Street to dispose of smaller trash. So, the Headhouse District recently emailed area residents saying they plan to get rid of them.
"They're abused but I don't think getting rid of them is going to help," said Carlo.
There are nearly three dozen of them in the area.
"You do have a lot of people who come down here and they buy things and they got to put trash somewhere," said a resident. Some don't think getting rid of the red cans is the answer.
"It'll make the street more of a mess. I think there should be more trashcans," said a resident who wanted to go by Jeff.
There is another option. The big belly trash cans put up by the city but most agree they’re unsightly and often unpleasant to use.
"The big belly cans I can see what you mean about them grossing people out. That's why they put the foot thing on but people will still put a bag next to the can," said Jeff.
Some say the problem is city trash pickup happens once a week and residents want excess garbage out of the house.
"There's a lot of people. There's a lot of trash. Maybe once a week isn't enough," said Jeff.
Fox29 contacted the South Street Headhouse District and the executive director says they've delayed getting rid of the trash cans and will be meeting with residents before making a permanent decision.