The dump spills down a slope off Pennway Street and finally comes to a dirty halt just feet from a clear running creek.
The dump spills down a slope off Pennway Street and finally comes to a dirty halt just feet from a clear running creek. A view of a small portion of an illegal dump that spans a block off Pennway Street in Northeast Philadelphia and spills down a ravine as viewed April 10, 2026.
The illegal dump is daunting, spanning the length and depth of a steep ravine for at least one block, spilling along before coming to a dirty halt near a clear stream. Viewed from above, it’s a vertiginous array of broken appliances, ratty furniture, dirty toys, old tires, used mattresses, and other detritus. The rear hatch of a white Toyota RAV4 pokes through has been the site of illegal dumping. But they know it presents a big logistical task to clean it out. “It’s certainly one of the larger dumps we’ve had to deal with,” said Carlton Williams, director of the city’s Clean and Green Initiatives Office.
A muddy army of volunteers helps clean up Philly’s biggest tire dump “We’ll probably have to get cranes. And it’s going to be challenging to get equipment back there,” Williams noted. “This has been a hidden place for people to illegally dump for some time.”
The first obstacle to cleaning out the dump is its location. It begins at the edge of an alley under high-voltage wires. Area residents park their cars Using volunteers to haul things out is probably not practical given the potential danger, Williams said. From below, the dump is hidden by woods that adjoin the grounds of Friends Hospital. To view it, you have to leave a small trail, walk down a vegetation-choked
There is no direct access road from the bottom. The second major obstacle will be untangling ownership of the property, sorting out responsibility, and paying for it.
Peco did not respond to an Inquirer email by deadline about whether any of the dump falls on its property or easements.
“We’re still trying to figure out a plan,” Williams said. “We need to identify the property owner. Then we have to gain access.”
Philadelphia already has 400 surveillance cameras used to monitor known dump sites and can tap a broader network operated by the police department and other agencies. It anticipates purchasing an additional 100 cameras.
“This is one of the harder ones to tackle,” said Justin DiBerardinis, executive director of TTF. “We’re at the beginning of a journey to take care of one of the biggest dumps that a lot of us have seen.”
Cleaning it up, he says, will be “extremely complex.” He’s also heartened by what he sees as the city’s willingness to address the logistical challenges presented by illegal landfills. landscape, and rests only yards from a tributary of Tacony Creek that serves as the edge of the 50-acre preserve.
“That stream is really clear, like spring-fed water coming from the earth,“ DiBerardinis said. ”To have that in our city is such a rare and special thing.“ He senses growing community support for tackling litter and a backlash against dumping. Last Saturday, about 100 volunteers came to the preserve to help clean it, though the dump remained inaccessible.
He thinks the community can play a role in the cleanup, if even for moral support and watchful eyes in the future. “I’m seeing people getting inspired at the possibility of the restoration and the protection of those places, and to have access for them and their children,” DiBerardinis said. “Dumping like that has a huge psychological impact on a community.”
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