Port Richmond and the Tioga waterfront: totes in and out
Port Richmond and the Tioga waterfront is a working riverfront on I-95: the Tioga Marine Terminal, steel and forest-product yards, and food processors tucked into the neighbourhoods.
01What sits here
Tioga Marine Terminal covers 116 acres with six berths and handles wood, steel, containers, palletized and breakbulk cargo. Marine terminals, steel, forest products, warehousing and food processing are the district’s industries. It is a district of long sheds and short blocks, and the rowhouses start a few streets from the water.
| ZIP codes | Industries here | Agency to ask about empties |
|---|---|---|
| 19134, 19125, 19137 | marine terminals, forest products, steel, warehousing, food processing | Pennsylvania DEP |
02Who has empties, who needs totes
Cargo handling is not tote country in itself, but the food processors and warehouses around the terminal are. They put out ingredient and rinse empties that suit gardens and growers, and a few chemical ones. The nearby rowhouse neighbourhoods are where small buyers sit, within a few blocks of the pad, so a single tote can often travel by van.
03Roads, rules and the move
I-95 passes the terminal, and Aramingo Avenue and Delaware Avenue carry the local trucks. The Tacony-Palmyra Bridge to Burlington County is a few miles up the river. The agency to ask about an empty container is Pennsylvania DEP. Philadelphia’s combined sewers and its Rain Check program make rain capture a local topic here too.
04Next door
| Place | ZIP codes | Industries |
|---|---|---|
| South Philadelphia and the Navy Yard | 19112, 19145, 19148, 19153 | life sciences, logistics, port terminals, shipbuilding |
05On the ground
Port Richmond’s streets are narrow, and trucks wait at the waterfront gates. A seller should name the gate and the hours. A buyer in a nearby rowhouse block can often collect a single tote with a van. The Betsy Ross Bridge ramp is close, which makes a New Jersey buyer easy to reach.
06Weather, season and timing
Port Richmond’s old streets are cobbled in places and narrow, with cars parked on both sides. A driver may need to bring a smaller truck. Sellers should say the gate hours at the waterfront, since many terminals close for lunch. Rowhouse buyers, by contrast, collect on weekend mornings when the street is quiet and a neighbour helps lift.
07A ticket from here
- Put one of the ZIP codes from the first table on the ticket.
- Say whether it is one tote or a pad, and where it stands.
?Questions on this page
Where do Port Richmond’s empties go?
To gardens and growers nearby when the last contents allow, and to washers or recyclers when they do not.
Sources
Last reviewed 2026-11-11. Rules change; read the current text before you act on it.