Measure allowing Philly residents to put out trash earlier advances

This winter, Philadelphia residents may be allowed to start putting out their trash a little earlier.

A proposal, approved a City Council committee, provides that residents could put out their trash beginning at 5 p.m. from October through March. Currently, residents can be ticketed if they put rubbish out on the curb earlier than 7 p.m. the night before it’s picked up.

Councilman Bobby Henon says some senior citizens are afraid to put out the trash after dark.

“Nobody wants to have a dirty city,” he said. “Putting it out really early, I understand, can cause some litter and affect the neighborhoods or the cleanliness of it. This initiative was a result of residents, mostly seniors, calling me who felt unsafe.”

City Streets Department officials say, if the bill is approved, when the time changes back in the spring, they would start by issuing warnings instead of immediate fines.