PHILADELPHIA – May 10 – Councilwoman Cindy Bass (8th District) introduced a bill Thursday that aims to ban contractors caught dumping from obtaining contracts with the City of Philadelphia.
The bill comes after Bass’ 8th District Trash Task Force caught a construction vehicle dumping stacks of wood and other materials behind concrete barriers in Logan Triangle. The vehicle’s driver said he was contracted by a City agency that could be seen doing work nearby.
“I was completely outraged and disgusted to learn that someone allegedly receiving City dollars would be caught flagrantly dumping in our neighborhoods in broad daylight,” Councilwoman Bass said. “That just shows the complete lack of respect and disregard that some people have for some of our communities and the people that live in them. There are houses that face Logan Triangle, children and seniors who live there, and homeowners who take the utmost care of their properties. Why would anyone think it was acceptable to subject these residents to dumping and construction debris?”
Bass’ bill would add a provision to the chapter of The Philadelphia Code entitled “Refuse and Littering” to establish that any contractor or subcontractor caught dumping while engaged in activity under a City contract would be prohibited from bidding on any future City contracts.
“The City of Philadelphia is dedicated to cleaning up our communities, but it’s hard to do that if the entities contracted by the City are the ones adding trash and debris to our open spaces,” Bass said. “My Trash Task Force actually watched an alleged City contractor dump construction debris in the 8th District. Under this legislation, the City of Philadelphia would have the ability to bar that contractor from ever working with the City again.”
The bill will go to the Council Committee on Streets and Services.
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Councilwoman Cindy Bass represents the 8th Council District, which includes Germantown, Mt. Airy, Nicetown, Tioga, Chestnut Hill, portions of Logan, and West Oak Lane. She is Chair of Council’s committees on Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs and Public Health and Human Services.
