City May Charge For Trash-Scattering
February 24, 2009 –
Despite rising public opposition, sources inside City Hall yesterday confirmed that they were still considering implementing a $5 fee for weekly trash-scattering. “We must trim $1 billion from the budget, and such a fee could raise up to $105 million per year,” said Deputy Mayor Rina Cutler at a midday news conference. “So the question then becomes: should our sanitation workers scatter trash across our streets and sidewalks for free?”
 Others in the administration seemed to think that the answer was “no.” “Hundreds of municipalities across the country charge a fee, so there’s certainly a precedent,” said Mayor Michael Nutter. “And our weekly garbageman-littering program is extremely expensive to run.” According to Finance Director Rob Dubow, “Personally, when I come home on trash day, and there are coffee grounds, orange rinds, and broken glass all over the place, I ask myself, ‘Can we really keep doing this at no cost?’ It’s such a valuable public service.”
Philadelphians, who under the plan would pay an obligatory $260 annual fee, protested the proposal. “I understand that the budget is bad, and that they have to look at everything,” said South Philadelphia’s Tom Finley, 61, sweeping assorted detritus from his sidewalk after another messy trash day. “But it’s a nice perk, I guess, to have my stuff strewn all over for free.” Cutler conceded the point. “I understand that residents expect not to pay for overworked garbagemen to knock over cans and miss the truck with wild junk-tosses,” she acknowledged. “But such convenience does come at a price.”
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