PHILADELPHIA – The Office of Clean and Green Initiatives, in partnership with various city departments, quasi-governmental agencies, and nonprofits, is advancing Mayor Parker’s One Philly, United City Cleaning Initiative by launching the 2025 Summer One Philly, United City Citywide Cleaning Program. This is the second year and third iteration of the program which continues building on the momentum of the last two initiatives where over 100,000 quality-of-life services were completed across the city. Departments and agencies will continue efforts to tackle persistent quality-of-life issues such as litter, illegal dumping, graffiti, abandoned vehicles, vacant lots, and nuisance properties. The program is operating on a 13-week schedule, from May 5 through August 1, 2025.

Thanks to the success of the previous citywide cleanings and the diligent efforts of each department’s employees, the One Philly, United City Citywide Cleaning Program is now standard operating procedure where detailed cleaning will take place in every neighborhood twice yearly. Utilizing a proactive, intergovernmental, holistic strategy that addresses every quality-of-life service from illegal dumping remediation to graffiti removal city departments continue to support Mayor Parker’s vision to make Philadelphia the Safest, Cleanest, Greenest big city in the nation with Access to Economic Opportunity for All.

This year, the Citywide Cleanup will join the movement to remove 25 billion pieces of litter across the country by America’s 250th birthday on July 4, 2026, as part of the Greatest American Cleanup. The Greatest American Cleanup, led by Keep America Beautiful and Philly250, inspires environmental stewardship across the country, and engages local communities to channel that momentum into action on our streets, parks, and neighborhoods for a cleaner, greener and safer city. “The Greatest American Cleanup and the Citywide Cleanup are deeply connected in the shared mission of revitalizing communities,” said Carlton Williams, Director of Clean and Green Initiatives. “While the national initiative inspires actions across the country, our local efforts bring that same spirit of environmental stewardship directly to our streets, creating a cleaner, greener, and safer city for everyone. We’re asking citizens to join the movement to get involved in the Greatest American Cleanup and help make America litter free by 2026. Visit www.kab.org to take the pledge.”

Full-Service Cleaning Plan

The One Philly, United Citywide Cleaning and Greening Program is supported by more than a dozen government agencies:

As part of the comprehensive cleaning strategy, crews will continue to utilize the Department of Sanitation’s pre-established collection routes to allow for the cleaning of each neighborhood. Departments will continue to work collaboratively to create a government every resident can see, touch, and feel. Cleaning teams will work, in tandem, in each sanitation district until all neighborhoods are cleaned. Litter and trash are most visible on trash and recycling days. Cleaning teams will be assigned to a route and will be scheduled to work a day behind the areas trash and recycling collection day to maximize impact.

The full-service cleaning plan has several components:

Each agency will be charged with tracking data and capturing the work performed so the
city and partners can have a full view of the results of this effort. All the above initiatives will be mapped and visualized at officeofcleanandgreen.org.