The story of glitter

Philadelphia has a long history with trash. But that doesn’t mean our future has to be so messy.

Decades of mismanaged resources, neglected infrastructure, and a defeated attitude have earned us the infamous nickname “Filthadelphia.” The city blames neighbors. Neighbors blame the city. Everyone blames the wind.

Glitter was designed as an effective and sustainable solution to the trash problem. We have one simple premise: give neighbors an affordable way to support a clean block, while providing a living wage to cleaners who need the work.

We pitched our idea a few years ago, and the idea was met with enthusiastic support from City Council. Unfortunately, the funded pilot was abandoned by bureaucrats before it ever got started. But local neighbors and businesses agreed with the model and funded the pilot directly. And in the summer of 2021, Glitter officially launched our flagship clean block service.

What began as a small experiment has grown into a scalable solution. A diverse and growing team of Glitter cleaners help us maintain hundreds of city blocks every week. We’ve embraced a pay-what-you-can model that meets any neighbor’s budget. And in just a few short years, we’ve seen the power that a consistently clean block can have on neighborhoods and the cleaners who care for them.

Now, we’ve proven our thesis. This method of neighborhood cleaning works — for communities, for cleaners, and for cities. We’re expanding throughout Philadelphia every week. And we’re eager to partner with anyone who believes that together, we can solve the trash problem in any and every community that’s filled with neighbors who care.