Illegal dumping remains a persistent issue in Philadelphia. With the city set to welcome visitors from around the world in 2026, officials say they want to address the problem well before then.

On Monday, members of city council's Streets and Services Subcommittee heard testimony from neighborhood activists and environmental stakeholders to discuss ways to strengthen enforcement. The hearing was the first of three planned discussions on the issue. Though not a member of the subcommittee, Councilmember Anthony Philips authored the legislation that set the hearings in motion.

"This is about equity, public health and quality of life," Phillips said.

A spokesperson for Philadelphia's Office of Clean and Green told CBS Philadelphia in an email that the city's sanitation department spends up to $2 million annually on illegal dumping. Residents say they aren't seeing results.

"The environment is not healthy," 79-year-old Joyce Brooks, who lives in Nicetown, said.

Brooks said illegal dumping is a frequent problem in her neighborhood.

"People [are] driving by, dumping trash over the lot where the market is, out of a U-Haul truck when they clean their houses," she said.

Posters displaying notorious dumping hotspots were presented during the hearing as councilmembers discussed shifting the city's focus from cleanup efforts to prevention and stronger enforcement.

Council President Kenyatta Johnson advocated harsher penalties for violators.

"If you're a contractor and you decide to not go to the city dump and dump that trash in our neighborhoods, you should be banned from doing work in the City of Philadelphia forever," Johnson said.

Clean and Green Director Carlton Williams testified that the city has been successful in arresting people caught on the approximately 300 surveillance cameras installed near known dumping sites. He said the city plans to add more cameras in the coming months.

"We will expand the number of cameras by 100 this year at other locations and hold illegal dumpers accountable," Williams said.

But Brooks remains skeptical.

"Four hundred cameras? OK. But where are you putting them at? We don't know," she said.

Brooks said she appreciates the work the Parker administration is doing to make Philadelphia cleaner. Still, she thinks it will take a greater effort from everyone who lives in the city, including more citizens.

Others echoed the need for a new approach.

"Our cries have fallen on deaf ears for a long time," said Leonard Rhett, a cleanup captain in the Olney neighborhood. "It's very frustrating."