In June 2026, Philadelphia’s current solid waste and recycling contracts are set to end, and a coalition of policymakers, industry professionals and advocates hope to use the contract expiration as a lever to fundamentally shift the City’s waste management practices toward circular approaches that include reuse, recycling, repair and composting — while addressing environmental justice
MoreWarren Muller turns the detritus of everyday life into something illuminating.
Look closely at one of Warren Muller’s spectacular light sculptures and you might spy some familiar items: old metal lunchboxes and canteens, colored glass vases and chipped teapots, tin funnels and candy molds, shovel handles and wire baskets. In Muller’s exuberantly creative version of recycling, cast-off objects
MoreIf there’s one bartop in the city as beautiful as that first post-work drink, it belongs to Noble: An American Cookery. The jaw-dropping single piece of wood stretches almost the entire length of the Sansom Street restaurant.
MoreCarpeting
The Issue: Getting rid of old carpet.
RecycleBank, a company founded in Philadelphia in 2005, has finally launched its innovative recycling rewards program in the City of Brotherly Love. Mayor Nutter and other city leaders celebrated the event with a press conference and demonstration in Strawberry Mansion.
MoreDid you know that most blast cleaning in the United States—used on public spaces like bridges, buildings and sidewalks—is done with industrial coal waste? Yup, industrial coal waste (or coal slag): the very same substance causing an environmental and public health disaster after a spill in Tennessee, and the same black muck that Lesley Stahl
MoreOne of the most striking things about the Philadelphia Recycling Rewards Program launch was the trucks. Wrapped in vibrant, colorful patterns, the hulking behemoths were belle of the ball. That’s all thanks to a partnership between the Streets Commission, under the guidance of Clarena Tolson, and Philadelphia’s Mural Arts program.
MoreUmbrellas—designed as a convenient solution to getting caught in the rain—can be surprisingly unwieldy. On a stormy day, Philly sidewalks are filled with all shapes, sizes and varieties. But, when the wind is strong, the flimsy shields often can’t withstand the pressure, acquiring that all-too-familiar inside-out look. At that point, the city becomes an umbrella
MoreMarvin Dixon takes lessons learned on a farm to the luxury hotel businessby Char Vandermeer
If the typical luxury hotel is a gaping hole of conspicuous consumption, then Philadelphia’s Four Seasons Hotel is anything but. With its hugely successful composting program, a commitment to reusing cooking oil, an aggressive commingled recycling program and a brand-new cogeneration
What to do with your trees, lights and wrapping paperWhen I was young, my family had a semi-official competition for the prize-winning bow each year at Christmas. The contenders would tirelessly toil away on their masterpieces, and the winner would be appropriately admired, photographed and stored away until the next year, when it would be
MoreWhen I was a kid, the holiday season was all about the gifts. I remember them well: baseball gloves, bikes, electronic games. As the publisher of Grid, I wish I could tell you that all of that stuff didn’t make me happy—but that would be a big fat lie. Each year, my favorite gift and
More