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Councilman Wants Trash Rules Relaxed For Senior Citizens

By Mike Dunn

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Philadelphia has strict rules on setting out trash at the curb, but a councilman says those rules should be relaxed for senior citizens.

Streets Department regulations currently state that residents have to wait until 7 p.m. to put their trash at the curb on the night before pick-up. Do so earlier, and you run the risk of getting slapped with a citation.

But, city councilman Bobby Henon says he's hearing that's a problem for senior citizens, particularly in the winter. "It gets dark out early. It's a safety issue for them, just walking down the steps. They don't want to be out, they want to run their errands early in the day, and be home by dark."

So, Henon has introduced a measure that relaxes the 7 p.m. restriction for any city resident 65 or older. The earliest time for them would instead be 2 p.m. under his proposal, which will be debated in committee.

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