Dear Philadelphia Festival Goers,

Please think twice before you carelessly drop your empty beer cup or water bottles on the ground. I know it's challenging to walk several footsteps to a nearby trash bin or recycling can, but the sanitation of your own city is at stake. We don't need to be partying in filth.

Over the weekend, I attended Made in America Music Festival on Ben Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia. It was really fun, but I've never been more happy to reunite with my shower after each day of the festival.

Michael Perl, Townsquare Media
Michael Perl, Townsquare Media
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I probably would have enjoyed my time a little better had I not been forced to trek through dumpsters worth of trash to get to each stage. I actually saw someone drop their empty water bottle at their feet, and I picked it up and walked a few feet over to a pretty close-by recycling bin. The person looked pretty shocked I did that, but I'm shocked at how careless someone could be.

I am certainly not a huge environmentalist, but I have enough respect for my surroundings to not discard of my food, bottles, cups, and dirty band-aids directly on the ground that thousands of people will need to walk through.

Michael Perl, Townsquare Media
Michael Perl, Townsquare Media
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I also have enough respect for the sanitation crews who had to work endlessly to clean up after MIA attendees. I captured the above pictures on my way out of day 1 (which means that crew worked all night to clean the grounds) just in time for us to trash it for day 2.  It's normal to have some trash on the ground, but I had yet to experience something like this.

The Ben Franklin Parkway has experienced something like this, and fairly recently. The Parkway was home to the Eagles Parade following their 2018 Super Bowl victory. The parade bought 2 million people to the city, as well as 60 tons of garbage, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. After the event concluded, sanitation crews worked for over 24 hours to clean the mess. I guess Philly likes to party in their own filth.

A special thank you to the sanitation crews in Philadelphia who have worked all weekend to clean up this careless mess. These crew members surely don't get enough appreciation, acknowledgment, and respect for what they do.

Yours Truly,
A Concerned Festival Goer

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