On MLK Service Day on January 20, volunteers from Philadelphia Parks & Recreation, Fairmount Park Conservancy, and the Belmont Plateau Trails Alliance cleaned up an estimated 1,200 illegally dumped tires from a large tire dump along Greenland Road in West Fairmount Park.

Each year on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, tens of thousands of volunteers across the region gather to participate in the Greater Philadelphia Martin Luther King Day of Service, the largest King Day event in the nation. Philadelphia Parks & Recreation has been an active participant in the event since 1996 when the King Day of Service initiative began.

As part of the 2020 MLK Day of Service, parks, recreation centers, and playgrounds hosted volunteer projects that address the needs of their neighborhoods, including indoor and outdoor litter and illegal dumping cleanups, painting projects, and community events.

One intrepid group of volunteers tackled the removal of the illegal tire dump along Greenland Drive in West Fairmount Park. The volunteers hauled about 1,200 tires up a 20 foot elevation change at a 45-degree incline.

The tires, which weighed-in at over 14.5 tons, were trucked to a disposal facility in Chester, Pennsylvania by Philadelphia Parks & Recreation operations staff.

Thanks to all who helped with this herculean effort. A special thanks goes out to AeLin Compton for identifying this problem and recruiting volunteers to clean it up and to the rest of the Philadelphia Parks & Recreation Stewardship team. Thanks also to Dan Schulke and the Fairmount Park Operations team for transporting all of the tires for disposal.

Parks & Recreation’s Community Initiatives Specialist AeLin Compton .

Remember: if you see illegal dumping in the act, call 911. If you see illegal dumping after the fact, call Philly311. Learn more about how to report illegal dumping.

MLK Service Day 2020 Tire Cleanup Gallery