Citywide Cleaning and Greening Program

Started:

In June 2024, Mayor Cherelle Parker's administration launched the One Philly, United Citywide Cleaning and Greening Program. Its goal: To clean every neighborhood in the city over a roughly three-month period. The program started last year and now takes place twice a year on a spring/summer and fall/winter schedule.

Progress Updates

Big illegal dump site poses big problem for city

(Inquirer) City officials don’t know how long the slope off Pennway Street in Northeast Philadelphia has been the site of illegal dumping. But they know it presents a big logistical task to clean it out.

“It’s certainly one of the larger dumps we’ve had to deal with,” said Carlton Williams, director of the city’s Clean and Green Initiatives Office.

“We’ll probably have to get cranes. And it’s going to be challenging to get equipment back there,” Williams noted. “This has been a hidden place for people to illegally dump for some time.”

City-Wide Cleaning Program

The program is run by the the Office of Clean and Green Initiatives. It targets issues such as litter, illegal dumping, graffiti, abandoned vehicles, vacant lots, and nuisance properties.

The program operated from May 5 through August 1, 2025. Its progress this cycle can be tracked here. This year, a logo that says “Join the Fight” will be stenciled in areas that have been cleaned.

It generally involves the following process:

  • Notifying the neighborhood through community organizations and media
  • Sending cleaning teams equipped with brooms, shovels, weed trimmers and more to clean trash and clear fence and curb lines.
  • Sending a team of SWEEP officers patrol the cleaned area, giving warnings and citations for deliberate violations

The program is run in collaboration with various city departments, quasi-governmental agencies and nonprofits. This includes the Department of Sanitation, the Police Department’s Neighborhood Services Unit, SEPTA, and the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society.

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The Lenfest Institute

VIDEO: EVEV Community Conversation: Clean & Green

Every Voice, Every Vote’s second Community Conversations event, held virtually on January 27, 2026. The title of the event was “Clean, Green and...
Screenshot from EVEV Community conversation event on Jan 27, 2026
Screenshot from EVEV's 2nd Community Conversations event, held virtually on January 27, 2026. Clockwise, from top left: Erica Atwood, Fairmount...
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA downtown city skyline at dusk.

Solutions Progress Report

The Solutions Progress Report tracks updates on the key issues and initiatives of Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle Parker's administration.