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
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There are few tasks I will dodge more willingly than cleaning out an empty peanut butter jar. It’s tedious and yucky, and I don’t want to do it. Yet when it’s time (or maybe a day or two later) I grab a butter knife and sponge, and scrub the bottom and the sides of the
MoreThe Challenge: Those cheap Walmart pots and pans you bought just out of college are reaching the end of their usefulness, but there’s a good chance they’re made out of aluminum or stainless steel, which are both recyclable. You can’t put them in the blue bin at the curb, but, according to the Institute of
MoreUrban farmer and MacArthur Grant recipient Will Allen on the importance of greens, worms and moreby Lee Stabert
Everything about Will Allen is big. The pro basketball player turned urban agriculture iconoclast has hands like baseball mitts, and arms like tree trunks. His normal uniform—jeans, baseball hat, hooded sweatshirt with the sleeves removed—only serves to emphasize
A local company helps Philly businesses jump on the composting bandwagon by Lee StabertThere is one word showing up left and right on the lips of top urban sustainability and food access experts: compost. To hear them speak of it, the stuff is magic—now it’s just a matter of getting the rest of society on
MoreA veteran Philly furniture maker finds new inspirationby Lee Stabert
I interview Jack Larimore from an unfinished bench in his studio. Reclaimed wood timbers lay on an angle—dominos mid-fall—braced by a small round ball. The top is sanded, but still rustic. As he speaks, I can’t help but run my finger along the grain of the
The Story of Stuff: How Our Obsession with Stuff is Trashing the Planet, Our Communities and Our Health--and a Vision for Changeby Annie LeonardFree Press (2010), $26
The original “Story of Stuff” is a 20-minute animated documentary that took Annie Leonard 20 years of research to make. It’s a brilliantly simple dissection of our society’s relationship
No Impact Man(2009)
Back in 2007, Colin Beavan (a.k.a. No Impact Man) had his 15 minutes—sitting for television interviews, being bandied about on blogs and earning a feature in The New York Times. (His book was reviewed in Grid’s October 2009 issue.) Along with his wife and daughter, Beavan attempted to live for one year in
Take advantage of the Household Hazardous Waste Drop-Off Program
Mark your calendars—it’s time for your toxic spring cleaning. Everyone in the region will have a chance to rid themselves of hazardous waste at the dates, times and locations listed here.
Recycling your old compact discsby Samantha Wittchen
The Challenge: The day when your tower of compact discs goes the way of the 8-track is rapidly approaching. With the increasing ubiquity of digital music, we are certainly in for a major influx of CD-related trash to our landfills.
In a new column, Julie Lorch pedals along with notable members of Philly's bicycle community on a route of their choice. They ride, they chat, she reports back.
I met Andy Dyson at St. Mary’s Church, Neighborhood Bike Works’ (NBW) headquarters at 3916 Locust Walk. Director of the organization since 2002, Dyson spends his days surrounded