Get ready to start your engine… Get your bikes ready!
This Friday, May 20th is National Bike to Work Day (a highlight of May being Bike Month!). I encourage all you to get on board at America’s #1 bike-commuting city (Philly, silly!) before the North-South Bike lanes begin in Philly next month!
Events kick off at 8 AM on Friday – Join
I must admit, I do love the lilac rain boots I purchased while sick of wet jeans and shoes being drenched in the rain. However, what if a street soaked up water like a sponge instead?
The 800 block of Percy St between Catherine & Christian became Philadelphia’s first porous Street to do just that! Made of permeable materials including porous asphalt and a layer of stones underneath, the street allows water to soak through the surface and eliminates storm-water runoff.
This wasn’t just constructed to decrease rain boot sales – Philadelphia has a combined sewer system that includes
This past Saturday, Philly Spring Cleanup Day united 10,000+ volunteers in 248 cleanup efforts around the city.
Our 34 volunteers in the 300-600 block of Washington Ave gathered more than 30 bags of trash and 8+ bags of recycling in the 5 hour event. Among the items collected were hundreds of cigarette butts, broken bottles, a shoe, silly bands, and paraphernalia that should not lie anywhere close to where children play. I was quite proud to see everyone eager to help out as they got down and dirty (with gloves, shovels and brooms, of course!)
Despite our success, (find out more, after the jump!)
Introducing : Philadelphia Recycling Rewards
Last week, Mayor Michael Nutter announced the Philadelphia Recycling Rewards program that will be citywide by July 2010. Philadelphia Recycling Rewards is a partnership between the Streets Department & RecycleBank that allows residents to earn points for discounts, full-value gift cards or charitable contributions at participating merchants and non-profits. Previous RecycleBank’s partnerships have proven to increase recycling efforts & aid the local economy. According to Director of Sustainability Katherine Gajewski, this program is Philly’s biggest Greenworks initiative to date in helping the City become the Greenest City in America.
Philadelphia is now the largest City in the US to reward residents for recycling efforts. The program is anticipated to bring the City’s recycling diversion rate- the amount of recyclable materials that are diverted away from landfills—to record levels. $$ talks – Every ton of waste diverted from landfills saves the city about $65.
City residents will be notified when Philadelphia Recycling Rewards will launch:
Spring has been very busy for the Green community in Philly – Here are a couple of events in the next week:
Want to help a local school win a Hybrid bus & become America’s Greenest School?
- Our Lady of Sacred Heart (OLSH) has received a Green Power Award for a Gold LEED renovationof their school including solar panels on the roof, conserving water in bathrooms and planting native plants on the school site. Next, they’re hoping to achieve the title of America’s Greenest School. Vote online for Brianna, age 18, on America’s Greenest School websiteuntil May 17th.
Thirsty ?
A positive change is in effect for Philadelphia’s recycling program – Philadelphia residents can now recycle every week on the same day as their neighborhood trash collection day.
This change is much more convenient for Philly dwellers. Gone are the days of trying to remember what two weeks of the month recycling pick-up falls on.
Mayor Nutter’s administration’s new policy is an indication that they’ve held true to their vow to improve Philadelphia’s recycling. Since the introduction of city-wide single-stream recycling last summer, Philly’s recycling rate has gone from about 6 to 10 %. Though we have a long way before being on par with other big city’s recycling programs, progress is being made.
Not sure what day is your trash/recycling pick-up is?
If you haven’t already, you NEED to vote today!
A record number of people have registered this year, and a huge number voted in the primary. However, regardless of the number of people who you see that say they’ve voted, your vote still matters.
My “voting history” began with my vote for Ross Perot (My dad brought me into the voting booth with him growing up, so I was able to cast a vote at age 9 and be a part of the process.) I’ve always voted in every election I could.
I’ve attended a few political rallies, including last night for a Joe Biden rally in South Philly. Mayor Nutter, 
Governor Ed Rendell, World Series champ Jimmy Rollins, and Jill & Joe Biden all spoke.
2 Million people (including me) ditched work or school Friday to celebrate the Phillies World Series win with a parade through our city of brotherly love. 
(Also explaining our lack of posts last week…)
This Phillies win did indeed bring out the love in Philadelphia. I was lucky enough to go to Game 5 (parts 1 and 2) – the winning game of the series. I felt the brotherly (and sisterly) love like never before as I was hugged by strangers in celebration of this HUGE win. It was the most perceptible outpouring of our city “slogan” I’ve ever felt.
