Philadelphia Parks & Recreation manages over 10,000 acres of public land and waterways. This includes hundreds of parks, playgrounds, and recreation centers. Parks & Rec works to keep these sites clean and green. It is also in our mission to make our sites more sustainable. Our sustainability team helps make this happen. The team works with our staff, city departments, community members, and partner organizations.

Here’s how the team helps keep Parks & Rec sites clean, green, and more sustainable:

Tracking Litter

To help us keep our sites cleaner, Parks & Rec hired two staff to audit litter and trash dumping. They researched ways to reduce litter. They also identified 80 dumping hotspots. Based on this information, we are developing a plan. The goal of the plan is to prevent dumping by installing barriers, cameras, and signage.

Building partnerships

We also partnered with local organizations to tackle litter at our sites. These partners help us clean up litter and put in place anti-dumping measures. Partners we worked with in 2023 include:

Staff take part in a sustainable land care training at the Fairmount Park Organic Recycling Center.

Training staff

We are also teaching our staff new skills to improve the sustainability of our public spaces. In 2023, our Sustainable Land Care Training program:

  • Trained over 140 employees in landscape management and safety practices.
  • Helped staff with practical skills that enhance the sustainability of our spaces.

Diverting organic waste from landfills

The Fairmount Park Organic Recycling Center is Parks & Rec’s oldest sustainability effort. For more than 40 years, the ORC has helped divert organic waste from landfills. The ORC accepts leaves, grass clippings, and herbivore manure among other organic items. Our staff turn this waste into woodchips, compost, and mulch. In 2023, we recycled an estimated 4,449 incoming tons of organic material into usable products. The ORC is open to residents, businesses, and other city departments. Learn how you can get organic materials like mulch and compost.

Reducing food waste and generating compost

Each year, Parks & Rec provides over one million meals to youth. These meals are served at our after school and summer programs. Some of these meals aren’t picked up. Others are left half-eaten. The sustainability team has found ways to save these leftovers.

To save unclaimed meals, Parks & Rec partnered with the MEANS Database. MEANS stands for Matching Excess And Needs for Stability. It is a food rescue organization. Their database connects Parks & Rec with nearby food providers. These providers then distribute the leftover meals. Through this program, Parks & Rec donated 12,191 pounds of food to those in need in 2023.

To further reduce food waste, Parks & Rec partnered with Bennett Compost. Bennett picks up food that can’t be donated from 75 recreation centers. This includes half-eaten apples, carrots, and sandwiches. Bennet composts this food at a park site in Northeast Philadelphia. Community gardens in the FarmPhilly network use the finished compost.

This partnership is the first of its kind in the City. In 2023, the food composting project:

  • Composted 17,975 lbs. of food waste.
  • Trained 336 recreation center staff and 638 youth in composting and food waste.
  • Returned 75 cubic yards of compost to community farms and gardens.

Read more about our recreation center composting program.

Hosting low-waste events

Parks & Rec welcomes over 30,000 runners for the Independence Blue Cross Broad Street Run. The event generates a lot of waste. Our staff works hard to prevent that waste from ending up in the landfill. We do this by recycling, donating, or composting what gets left behind. In 2023, we saved 25,087 pounds by:

 

Help make Philadelphia a more sustainable place!
Visit the Organic Recycling Center in West Fairmount Park to pick up organic materials for your garden or planters.