PHILADELPHIA, PA (Thursday, December 18) –  Residents, local leaders, business owners, and advocates for clean energy gathered at City Hall Thursday to show their support for lowering energy prices by bringing more renewable energy projects to the region. Since President Donald Trump took office, energy prices have risen by 4.5% and are expected to keep rising. Coal generation costs are up a whopping 28% since 2021—adding $6.2 billion in extra consumer costs in 2024. The PJM Interconnection, which serves much of the Mid-Atlantic region, reported a 44% increase in electricity and gas prices in early 2025 compared to the same period in 2024. Trump’s policies–including rolling back clean energy laws and issuing federal orders to keep costly, inefficient power plants online instead of allowing clean energy to replace them–helped drive these increases, despite the fact that 90% of renewables are now cheaper than fossil fuels worldwide. 

Councilmember Jamie Gauthier, Chair of Philadelphia City Council’s Committee on the Environment, said “This year, Trump gave the American people a lump of coal for the holidays. Unaffordable energy bills aren’t inevitable, they are a direct result of Trump’s Polluter First Agenda – which puts Big Oil above Philadelphia families. All Philly wants for Christmas is for Trump to make energy bills more affordable and protect our planet and health by accelerating clean energy investments.”

“So let’s be clear: we will not stand by while our small businesses are strangled and our communities are asked to shoulder more and more,” said Jennifer Zavala, South Philadelphia Resident and Owner and Operator of Juana Tamale. “We will raise our voices, we will demand action, and we will vote for leaders who put people over polluters”.

“The last thing hard-working families should have to worry about this holiday season is their growing energy bill. Our leaders need to step up and prioritize clean energy projects so we can lower costs and protect each other from the harms of the climate crisis,” said Alice Lu, Clean Air Council Policy Analyst.

“There is no denying that energy bills are rising faster than the cost of inflation. One in five Pennsylvania households report difficulty paying their energy bills. More than 338,000 Pennsylvanians had their electricity turned off in 2025. This is unacceptable. Pennsylvanians need real solutions like clean energy that create jobs, reduce pollution, & provide relief for families facing rising energy bills,” said Annie Regan, PennFuture Campaigns Director.

The Cobbs Creek Watershed Coalition is composed of several impactful organizations and neighbors, all lending stewardship and expertise to a shared vision to inspire and support the communal care of our watershed neighborhoods. Our open coalition also aims to amplify our work by coming together to offer vibrant programming and engagement to West and Southwest Philadelphia Watershed neighborhoods. Learn about some of our coalition members below.

Cobbs Creek Ambassadors are a community group dedicated to the care and cleanup of Cobbs Creek Park and Trail. Beyond their essential work of removing litter, their goal is to foster community pride and motivate people to become active stewards of these outdoor spaces.

Global Thinking Initiatives is an organization with a focus on community education and social impact initiatives. They aim to promote a culture of economic citizenship, social and financial inclusion, and educational opportunity—particularly for underserved groups—by offering scholarships, financial literacy programming, and tools to help families, students, and savers make informed economic decisions.

Original American Foundation was created by and for American Indians and American People of Color in Philadelphia and focuses on land stewardship and creating healthy communities. They also lead workshops and education opportunities around growing food, planting native plants, and skills in acquiring and maintaining land.

Southwest CDC began in1987 and supports Southwest Philadelphia residents with services like housing counseling, workforce development, and youth programs.

Cobbs Creek Community Environmental Center has served as a local community pillar, offering environmental education programs, hands-on activities, research opportunities, and teacher training for over twenty years. The center and its surrounding lands feature meadows, a forest, two creeks, and a wetland, providing a rich setting for its environmental programming and community engagement events.

UC Green is a Philadelphia nonprofit that mobilizes volunteers and residents to plant and maintain street trees, gardens, and green spaces across West and Southwest Philly.

Audubon Mid-Atlantic is a nonprofit protecting birds and their habitats through science, advocacy, and conservation efforts in the mid-atlantic region of the United States. Their work includes local conservation education and engagement initiatives.

LandHealth Institute is a Philadelphia‑based nonprofit focused on environmental education and restoring local ecosystems through immersive programming and native plant initiatives. 

Philadelphia Mycology Club‘s mission is to study, collect, and document fungi; to foster accessibility, diversity, and inclusivity through educating the community on fungi; and to steward the land and advocate for fungal conservation.

Black Farmers Co‑op is a grassroots organization working to eliminate food insecurity and promote urban farming through cooperative growing and education in Philadelphia.

Riverways is dedicated to connecting people with Philadelphia’s urban waterways through education, storytelling, and environmental advocacy, with a focus on community engagement.

---

Interested in joining the Cobbs Creek Watershed Coalition? Reach out to trail@cleanair.org or submit your email below.

PHILADELPHIA, PA (September 26, 2025) –  On Wednesday, September 24, the City of Philadelphia, with co-counsel Hausfeld LLP, filed a lawsuit against Bimbo Bakeries and S.C. Johnson & Son, alleging that the companies have misled consumers by deceptively advertising that the single-use plastic bags they produce are recyclable. 

Some of the companies’ products are labeled in a way that, according to the lawsuit, would mislead consumers to believe that their plastic bags can be recycled in the Philadelphia recycling system. Since this is not the case, this packaging has caused damage to the City’s recycling infrastructure, creating more waste and increasing costs. As part of the lawsuit, the City seeks an injunction ordering the companies to change their marketing of these products to be more transparent about their actual recyclability. If these materials can be kept from disrupting recycling streams, it will ultimately improve the efficiency of the City’s recycling system while giving consumers peace of mind when they seek to make environmentally-conscious purchases. 

Lawrence Hafetz, Clean Air Council Legal Director, issued the following statement:

“We applaud the City of Philadelphia’s efforts to hold those in the plastics industry accountable to the public. This plastic waste not only fills up our landfills, it is a major source of pollution in all of Pennsylvania’s natural resources and waterways. At the very least, this industry must be clear with the public as to when, if ever, their products are recyclable.”

Feet First Philly’s Public Space Enhancement Mini-Grant Program is back again for the sixth year. This grant program has funded over 64 projects across Philadelphia since 2020, and all city residents and community groups are invited to apply. 

This program has a funding focus on supporting communities that historically have had less investment (or active disinvestment) in the built environment and city services. Feet First Philly seeks projects that improve walkability by making neighborhoods safer and easier to walk and roll in. The program has supported many different types of projects over the past few years, based on the belief that residents know their community best and are the best advocates to identify and carry out public space improvements.

Feet First Philly is partnering again with the Philadelphia Department of Public Health to provide funding for projects to create and improve public spaces, particularly in underserved communities. Mini-Grants between $500 and $2,000 will be awarded to address the financial and technical barriers that organizations face when creating or improving public spaces. 

Funding can be used to support public space projects, including construction materials, educational materials, event costs, insurance, stipends, staff time, or other needs. Be creative and improve a public space that matters to your community. 

You can download the Request For Proposal (RFP) here.

Applications are now open! Applications due on October 1, 2025, at 11:59 PM.

The Public Space Enhancement Mini-Grant Application is open. Use the Google form below to submit your application, email questions to shecht@cleanair.org.

We will be hosting an informational online webinar on Wednesday, August 20, 2025, at 12:00 PM, discussing the application & awarding process, hearing from previous years awardees, and more!

Have questions for us? Request a one-on-one session to discuss your application between now and September 22nd by emailing Sally Hecht, Clean Air Council’s Sustainable Transportation Program Coordinator at shecht@cleanair.org with times that work best for you.

---

Read about our past mini-grant recipients

First year of mini-grant projects

Second year of mini-grant projects part 1 

Second year of mini-grant project part 2

Third year of mini-grant projects part 1

Third year mini-grant projects part 2

Fourth-year mini-grant projects

Fifth year mini-grant projects

---

July 9, 2025 – When Philadelphia’s AFSCME District Council 33 union went on strike earlier this month and sanitation workers paused curbside pickup, it was no surprise that garbage began to pile up around the city. But if you were shocked by just how much trash took over our streets, you weren’t alone. It can be easy to overlook the volume we each produce. Once it’s out of sight, it’s out of mind.

And when it’s in sight? Well, it’s hard to forget! Now that we’ve experienced this valuable reminder, we can work together to reduce waste. After all, although environmental issues like these are collective problems with collective solutions, individual actions add up. With the easy tips below, each of us can build new, sustainable habits that keep our city clean and support a more livable planet.  

1. First & Foremost: Compost

When our garbage cans start to stink, food scraps are likely the main culprit. Luckily they’re a key ingredient in a delightfully useful dish: compost! Composting is the practice of turning organic waste into a soil amendment. 

Whether you compost in your own backyard or use a local service like Bennett or Circle, you’d be surprised how much of what you throw away can be composted, like:

• Fruit and vegetable scraps – think: peels, stems, and husks
• Those plants you forgot to water again
• Shredded brown bags from the overflowing pile of bags you saved “just in case”
• The evidence of your shopping habit (aka shredded cardboard) 
• The evidence of your caffeine habit (aka coffee grounds, filters, and paper tea bags)

When contributing to a local program, just be sure to ask what materials they do and do not accept beforehand.

2. Say “So Long” to Single-Use

Listen, no one likes doing the dishes. But think of how much room we’d all save in our trash cans if we finally did away with the plastic cutlery, iced coffee cups, and paper plates and towels. Making just a few changes during our daily routines can keep even more single-use plastic (created at petrochemical facilities that produce a lot of harmful pollution) from sitting in the landfill forever. See how many of the following you can do in a day – then find a fun podcast to listen to while you scrub-a-dub-dub after dinner.

• Bring a reusable cup to the cafe each morning
• Stash a metal yogurt spoon in your work bag
• Shop the bulk section and bring your own containers
• Cut up old towels or t-shirts for cleaning rags
• Switch out your shampoo and conditioner bottles for bars
• Take those reusable totes out of the hall closet and put them in more useful places, like your backpack, at your desk, and by the front door  

3. Get Organized by Getting Creative

If you’re the member of your household who always says, “That’s a nice box!” it’s your time to shine.

We truly don’t need a Container Store’s-worth of clear acrylic bins to stay organized. Each of us may be throwing away perfectly good storage solutions every week without realizing it! Before you toss another jam jar or take-out container, take a look around. That jar may be just the thing to rein in your scattered makeup brushes, its lid can handle your hair pins, and that take-out container could be the right size for all the batteries rolling around in your junk drawer. It doesn’t have to be Instagram-able, it just has to be functional. 

4. If It Is Broke, Try to Fix It

Online shopping has made it all too easy to dump an item just because it feels easier to replace it than to repair it. Fixing our belongings instead of tossing them not only keeps valuable items out of the bin, it also saves us money and helps us learn new skills.

• Mending clothing is the hottest trend in crafting. Local sew shops like Sew + Sew and Approved Textiles teach classes on it. 
• The internet can be a wonderful place full of experts who want to share their knowledge. Sites like YouTube and TikTok have plenty of simple tutorial videos, and Reddit has a forum for everything. 
• When you need the help of an in-person human, check your local tinkering and repair groups. The Philly Fixers Guild hosts events to help you with everyday fixes. 

5. Buy Less, Share More

The easiest way to reduce the waste on the curb is to buy fewer things that produce waste in the first place. Next time you feel the need to make a purchase, ask yourself, “Can I use things I already have access to instead? If not, are there people in my community who might have what I need and be willing to help, share, or lend it to me?” You may find what you need in the following resources: 

• “Buy Nothing” and “Neighbors of” groups on Facebook, WhatsApp, and Nextdoor. Members often post unwanted items for others to pick up free of charge, and many of them allow members to ask for things they need, either to borrow or keep. 
• Organizations like West Philly Tool Library lend you specific tools so you don’t have to buy a new one for a single household repair. 
• The Free Library isn’t just for books anymore. You can find movies, health devices, and even musical instruments! Your local Little Free Library may also be bursting with giveaways, and your neighborhood may even have a “Free Book Exchange” Facebook group. 

Whether you try just one of these tips or all five, you’ll be helping reduce the waste that enters landfills, the energy required to make items that end up there, and the pollution they produce.

In celebration of Earth Day, Clean Air Council will be tabling and/or in attendance at the following events. We hope to see you there!

Environatal Day at Bartram’s Garden | April 17th 10-2pm 

Join Nature Momz at Bartram’s Garden for an organized group walk along the trail to discuss maternal health, air quality, and the impact of the environment on mothers and infants. Free to all and no registration is required.

In partnership with the Philadelphia Regional Center for Children’s Environmental Health, Clear Air Council, Nurturely and a Place for Ummi Maternity Care.

Spring Fest at Bartram’s Garden | April 19th 10-2pm 

Join Bartram’s Garden for their annual spring celebration! Activities will include a guided tour of the Garden’s 19th-century flower garden, a youth-led block printing activity, hands-on natural dye activity, an annual plant sale, and so much more. Clean Air Council will be tabling at the event, so stop by to learn more about the smoke contamination issue at Bartram’s Garden. 

SEPTA’s Earth Day Celebration | April 21st 11-2pm

SEPTAs Sustainability Department is hosting its annual Earth Day Expo. Check out SEPTAs Zero Emission Fuel Cell buses, learn more about SEPTA’s sustainability practices, and visit Clean Air Councils table to learn more about our transportation programs. 

Earth Day Expo at Temple University | April 22nd 11-3pm

Join the Office of Sustainability and TSG Sustainability Committee for an Earth Day Expo to learn more about sustainability on campus through student involvement, departmental research, and action plan development. Clean Air Council will be tabling at the Expo, so stop by to learn more about the Council’s transportation programs. 

Swissvale Community Garden Earth Day Cleanup | April 22nd 6-8pm

Join the Swissvale Community Garden to help clean out garden beds and prepare for the growing season. Clean Air Council organizers will be in attendance to discuss our composting program and how to start composting. 

Mt. Lebanon Earth Day Event 2025 | April 27th 11-3pm

Join us for live music, vendors, henna art, yoga classes, a kids bike course, and so much more at the Mt. Lebanon Earth Day Event. Stop by Clean Air Councils table to learn more about our programs in Southwest Pennsylvania. 

“The Hub” is a weekly round-up of transportation related news in the Philadelphia area and beyond. Check back weekly to keep up-to-date on the issues Clean Air Council’s transportation staff finds important.

---

---

---

---

Other Stories

PhillyVoice: Market Street Bridge to close for 14 months starting August 2026 during $149 million rebuild 

The Inquirer: Philly council members tabled a bill over concerns about bringing speed cameras to school zones

PhillyVoice: Reopening of MLK Drive Bridge pushed back to September after cold weather slowed repairs

NBC10: Lights go out in part of 30th Street Station, traffic lights outside also go down

StreetsBlog USA: What Will ‘Safe Streets and Road For All’ Mean Under Sec. Duffy?

PennDOT released its annual transportation survey for all Pennsylvanians to complete. The survey asks participants about their transportation habits, what type and how they use transportation, and what improvements they want and how they want PennDOT to invest in the future. 

Your feedback will be an important part of PennDOT’s 12-year Transportation Program update process along with other state and regional transportation plans. Sustainable modes of transportation are the best for the environment. Clean Air Council supports active sustainable modes of transportation. For more information on how to complete the survey, please visit https://bicyclecoalition.org/penndot-transportation-feedback-survey/.

Monday September, 9th 2024 | Will Fraser

Clean Air Council recently held a trail maintenance workshop as part of our work with the Circuit Trails Maintenance Committee. The workshop was funded by We Conserve PA and DCNR was held at Cobbs Creek Community Environmental Center and offered community members, volunteers, and trail managers the opportunity to learn from local, regional, and national trail experts including Friends of the Wissahickon, Fairmount Park Conservancy, Morris County Parks Commission, National Park Service, and Appalachian Mountain Club. 

The full day workshop was split into a morning classroom session and afternoon hands-on field session. Three specific maintenance topics were identified by a regional trail manager survey prior to the workshop: volunteer management, stormwater management, and vegetation management. Attendees learned basics on volunteer management including recruiting, training, and retaining volunteers and how to set up a volunteer day from start to finish including a breakdown in the types of tools used for trail maintenance. Workshop attendees learned about identifying common native and invasive plants and how to properly remove invasive plants with gloves and shears provided to them as part of the workshop. Participants also gained an understanding of ways in which stormwater can affect trails and learned how to identify stormwater runoff erosion and different solutions to prevent stormwater damage. 

In addition to the workshop offering education on specific trail maintenance topics it also provided the opportunity for community members, trail managers and government and municipal partners to further connect on trail maintenance issues. Built-in breaks during the workshop allowed participants to discuss trail maintenance challenges and successes and share lessons learned from their experience while hearing from other attendees.  

66tyThank you to We Conserve PA and the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources for funding this workshop and to the speakers who brought their passion, skills, and expertise to the workshop. A special acknowledgement to Friends of the Wissahickon and Pennsylvania Recreation and Park Society for helping plan and organize the workshop and to Cobbs Creek Community Environmental Center for hosting.

September 9, 2024

PHILADELPHIA, PA On Friday, after three years of requests and two years of litigation, the Federal District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania ordered the National Park Service (NPS) to disclose to Clean Air Council key documents relating to the proposed federal investment in fossil fuel-fired heating equipment for buildings at Independence National Historical Park. The Council brought the lawsuit in 2022 to compel the federal government to produce documents in response to its Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.

This effort has been part of the longstanding campaign of the Council and partners to get Philadelphia Gas Works (PGW) to halt its drive to build more long-term methane gas infrastructure during the climate crisis. A diversification study was conducted in December 2021 presenting PGW with multiple options to convert Philadelphia to renewable energy. 

“The power of sunshine laws, like the FOIA, allow us, the People, to make sure our government sincerely and correctly upholds laws that exist to protect the environment and public health,” said Lauren Otero, Clean Air Council staff attorney. “Federal decisions to lock itself into fossil fuel infrastructure for decades to come contradicts the Biden administration’s mandate to preserve a stable climate and undercuts our overdue need to reduce carbon emissions.” 

NPS has 45 days to turn over to the Council feasibility studies and associated documents that claim gas-fired boilers are the best solution available to reduce carbon emissions. If NPS says it can’t separate out those materials from confidential or proprietary information, it will give them to the Court to review and then decide what to disclose.  

“Given the climate crisis, new fossil-fuel heating is wrong for the City and wrong for the planet,” said Elaine Fultz, a member of Citizens’ Climate Lobby’s Philadelphia Chapter. “It would exacerbate global warming, worsen air quality in the Old City neighborhoods, and undercut both City and Federal targets for reducing carbon emissions. Philadelphia Gas Works must transition to the distribution of clean energy, and Philadelphia’s National Historical Park should be a leader, not a laggard, in the green transition.”

For a copy of the opinion, click here

For a copy of the order, click here.