Philly Talks Trash Winter 2026

Unwrapping the System

Dear Reader,

Welcome to the 10th Philly Talks Trash Quarterly Newsletter. As our nation undergoes a winter of trauma exposing growing efforts by the federal government to crush unwanted people, to erase our history and democratic values, and to remove pollution protections from water, air and land, we believe that our work against single use plastics continues to be relevant to our communities, our health, and the health of our environment. We as citizens need to continue to take action to counter all of those efforts.

The Philly Unwrapped Toolkit is Here

Philly Unwrapped is a coalition of more than 40 member organizations working to reduce single-use packaging waste across Philadelphia’s food sector and build a healthier, more circular local economy. The coalition is managed by ECHO Systems, a Philadelphia-based nonprofit focused on solid waste prevention and reuse design. Members include food businesses, neighborhood organizations, technical experts, cultural partners, and civic institutions who share a commitment to waste reduction, community well-being, and environmental justice. Strategic support comes from the Sustainable Business Network of Greater Philadelphia (SBN), Clean Water Fund’s Rethink Disposable program, and Trash Academy.

Funding from the EPA Region 3 Thriving Communities Green & Healthy Homes Initiative supports the socialization and data collection phase of the project, including hosting six major events (four in-person + two virtual), onboarding community partners, and ensuring the toolkit reaches the food businesses that need it most. This moment is about expanding participation, strengthening alignment across sectors, and bringing interested people to the table—not to catalog barriers, but to organize around possibility. Thoughtful communities can build the systems we believe in and need, particularly as a pathway to decarbonize our economy and produce less local waste.

At the center of this effort is the newly released free Waste Reduction Toolkit, created to help food businesses reduce disposable packaging, explore safer and more cost-effective alternatives, and understand the environmental and public health stakes. Food packaging is massively implicated in local waste streams, and plastics used in food contact materials contain over 16,000 chemicals of concern, including endocrine disruptors and other substances linked to chronic health impacts. Reducing packaging is one of the most immediate ways cities can cut emissions, reduce toxic exposure, and lighten the burden on neighborhoods.

Throughout 2025–2026, Philly Unwrapped events will introduce the toolkit, support adoption, and gather data to inform future policy and funding pathways. The first event takes place February 9th at the Esperanza Core Center in North Philadelphia, in partnership with Trash Academy, Clean Water Action’s Rethink Disposable program, and SBN. These events are open to the public, and outreach + event volunteers are welcome.

By centering reuse, shared learning, and policy alignment, Philly Unwrapped shifts Philadelphia from downstream waste management to upstream waste prevention. It provides tools rather than penalties, builds shared infrastructure, and connects community-led work to federal resources. Research shows that food businesses adopting reuse strategies can save between $3,000 and $22,000 per year, reinforcing that environmental action and economic resilience can go hand-in-hand.

Ultimately, Philly Unwrapped is about possibility: healthier neighborhoods, thriving small businesses, and climate solutions that start close to home—and scale outward through partnership, data, and imagination.

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Get Involved

Download the Toolkit, register for the February 9 Event or register to volunteer by visiting  https://echosystems.org/

Policymakers + Policy-Inclined:
If you are a policymaker, government staffer, or someone interested in influencing local budgets and policies, email admin@echosystems.org to join the Philly Unwrapped Working Group, convening in late March 2026.

🖋️ From Our Guest Author:
The Resource Exchange

Hello! We are The Resource Exchange, Philadelphia’s Creative Reuse Center. We are a 501 (c)(3) non profit organization that has been operating in Philadelphia for over 16 years. We have called the River Wards home for over a decade, and currently reside in Kensington at 1800 N American street! Our mission is to provide inspiration and reclaimed materials for creative and environmentally resourceful making, teaching & living. Our nonprofit shop, gallery, and workshop space promotes creative reuse, recycling, and resource conservation by diverting valuable materials from the waste stream and redirecting them to artists, builders, educators, and the general public.

Our organization promotes a circular creative economy, and was first created to address the extensive waste in the film and theatre industries. Many productions create a large number of props and sets that are only needed for a relatively short time but with no plans for them after the project concludes. Many other organizations, businesses and people struggle to address the questions of “How do I create more sustainably?” and “What do I do with my materials when my project has run its course?” Our goal is to provide an answer.

Our shop is a donor-based creative reuse business. The process begins with our amazing donors. When people do not know where to bring supplies such as art supplies, building materials, fabric, art books, home decor, and furniture, we offer them a second chance at a new home away from landfills. The items are screened and approved by our staff and then researched and discounted at a minimum of ⅓ to ½ off of retail to reflect their value. They are then organized and displayed on our shelves to supply and inspire our customers! When you come to us for your next project, you never know what you are going to find, and we hope our materials inspire something new for your project or spark a new idea!

Nested in our store is a gallery that showcases the work of our talented community of artists. It is a diverse space welcoming many disciplines of art to be shown together under the umbrella of creative reuse. To give our local artists a place to shine and grow, we invite them to submit their work to our reCreate gallery during our quarterly open calls. Anyone can view our gallery and be inspired by what can be done with these materials, and many are available for purchase to support the growth of the artists who work with us. 

To better understand material reuse and also help our community gain new creative skills, we also offer workshops! We work with local makers to facilitate skill sharing to promote sustainable art practices and techniques that will assist in strengthening your creative practice and best use of materials. If you would like to take one of our workshops, please browse our events which change each month, and if you are a maker who would enjoy showing skills that promote creative reuse, we would love to hear from you and talk about working together.

We love our customers and our community and we hope that you will stop in to shop, gallery, host a workshop, show your work with us, or just be inspired by all the creative reuse!

🗳️ Politics and Legislation

The city’s 7-year contracts for trash and recycling expire on June 30th, and new contracts will determine where Philly’s trash goes for the next several years. The bill passed City Council’s Environment Committee in November, with a strong 5-1 vote, and was on the brink of passage at the January 22nd, 2026 city council meeting. Gauthier pulled it from a vote after hearing from fellow council members who needed more time.

Mayor Parker’s administration has lobbied hard against this bill, with her Sanitation Commissioner calling council members to urge them to vote it down. Public testimony at November’s hearing and January’s city council meeting were strongly in favor, with many Philly residents and some Chester City residents – including Chester’s mayor and health commissioner – testifying passionately in support of the bill.

Councilmember Gauthier is determined to bring the bill back for a vote, and we need your support to help overcome pressure from the mayor and the incinerator company, Reworld. Calls to Council Members Phillips, Jones, Harrity, Lozada, Squilla, Young, and Johnson are helpful. Learn more about the bill at phillyzerowaste.org and please send a message to all city council members through the action alert at phillyzerowaste.org/action.

📅 Events 📝

Click on the calendar icons below to add events to your Google calendar

📅 Feb 9th, 3 – 5 PM EST • Esperanza Health Core Center • Philly Unwrapped Community Waste Reduction Toolkit Launch Event • Join SBN, ECHO Systems, Rethink Disposable/Clean Water Fund, and Trash Academy for the Philly Unwrapped Community Waste Reduction Toolkit Launch Event at Esperanza Health Core Center, 3222 H St, Philadelphia, PA 19134. This free, ADA-compliant event with food, beverages, parking, and interpretation available is designed for food, beverage, event, and hospitality businesses, as well as community leaders, neighborhood association representatives, university facilities managers, and city agency staff. Attendees will explore the practical Toolkit that helps reduce waste, lower costs, and improve operations, connect with a network of like-minded professionals, participate in community-led listening sessions, and engage with advocates shaping citywide waste reduction strategies.

📅 Feb 11th, 5 – 6 PM EST (Online) • Back to Basics: Plastic Pollution 101 Webinar •  The Plastic Pollution Coalition’s panel of activists, educators, and scientists will present key information about the plastic pollution crisis, and how protect yourself and the planet.

📅 Feb 13th, 9 – 5 PM EST • NYU Tandon School of Engineering • NYC Microplastics Symposium • Join experts from academia, government, industry, NGOs, and communities to explore the impacts of plastic pollution on human and environmental health.

📅 Mar 20th, 6:30 PM EST • Head House Books (Philadelphia) • Introducing Judith Enck’s new book • Join Judith Enck, president of Beyond Plastics, in conversation with WHYY reporter Susan Phillips to explore her new book, The Problem with Plastic: How We Can Save Ourselves and Our Planet Before It’s Too Late

🌐 Plastic-reduction Resources 🤝🏽

The problems we face with plastic proliferation are great, but an ever-growing group of organizations, laws, and policies are taking aim at the issue, and small businesses are looking to meet the need for products without plastics. The Philly Talks Trash Resource Page is an expanding collection of waste-reduction information, politics, articles, products, and organizations, all focused on reducing plastic use. If you have suggestions for the page please email us. We will highlight a few products and organizations in each newsletter and the link to the full and growing list will always be available at bit.ly/pttq.

Want to stay in the loop on local waste reduction?
Subscribe to ECHO’s monthly newsletter here.

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