Waste & Illegal Dumping
Illegal dumping is one of the most-reported categories in Philadelphia's 311 system — and one of the most spatially concentrated. A handful of zip codes in North and Northeast Philadelphia account for a disproportionate share. This track digs into those patterns: the day-of-week fingerprint, the overlap with missed collections, and the long tail of zip codes that look quiet but aren't.
Stories
Mapping Philadelphia’s illegal-dumping hot spots
In 2024, residents filed thousands of illegal-dumping reports across the city. 19134 alone accounts for nearly a quarter of all reports—and the day-of-week pattern reveals when dumping peaks.
Trash in transit
Two waste-related 311 categories — illegal dumping and missed rubbish/recyclable collection — leave very different fingerprints on the map. A two-layer hex-bin view of where they overlap and where they don't.
The 1 in 10 zip codes
Eight zip codes — out of 48 — drove most of Philly's 2024 illegal-dumping reports. A scroll-driven walk from the citywide map down to one zip's day-of-week fingerprint, contrasted against the median.