Shortly after the city announced 63 temporary sites for residents to drop off garbage while municipal workers strike, alarming images of one Center City spot began circulating.
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Trash bags had piled on the curb of 18th and Catharine streets, abutting cars and spilling onto the grassy patch of sidewalk, by Tuesday — as seen in a Reddit post. Then, even as a dumpster materialized to hold litter, it filled so quickly that garbage overflowed into the street and sidewalk. A TikTok that amassed over 1.5 million views revealed a small mountain of bags and boxes soaking in the summer rain Wednesday.
By Thursday afternoon, however, the dumpster had moved. A sign posted outside the intersection, right by the gates of Marian Anderson Recreation Center, read: “The dumpster has been moved to 18th & Fitzwater. Do not put trash here!”
Kristin Hunt/for PhillyVoice
A sign posted at 18th and Catharine streets instructs residents to take their trash to a dumpster one block over.
It was not the only drop site to abruptly shift locations, or disappear entirely. According to the Chestnut Hill Local, the city removed 100 E. Mermaid Lane from its list of collection sites after the original document was published.
City officials did not immediately clarify if they had moved the locations in response to negative social media attention, or scrubbed additional sites. But the temporary garbage solution has undeniably gotten bad reviews. Users across Reddit, Twitter and TikTok have branded Philadelphia “the city of trash” and joked that some neighborhoods are poised for “complete societal collapse.” They have also, resoundingly, pressed Mayor Cherelle Parker to pay the striking workers. Some have even threatened to leave their trash at City Hall or Parker’s home.
imo garbage men should make $100,000 a year because their job is so important and also everyone loves them.
— kelsey mckinney (@mckinneykelsey) July 1, 2025
Negotiations between city leaders and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees District Council 33 have continued since the strike began Tuesday, though an agreement has not been reached as of Thursday afternoon. (The latest offer would cost $115 million over three years, Parker said.) The union represents trash collectors as well as emergency dispatchers, street maintenance workers, crossing guards and other employees. Since their work stoppage, weekly garbage collection has halted along with several other city services.
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