December 17, 2025
Provided Image/Peter Breslow Consulting & Public Relations
Terrill Haigler, known as Ya Fav Trashman, and condiment brand HotBox Philly have created a new hot sauce, called Street Heat, to raise money for Haigler's organization Trash 2 Treasure, which conducts neighborhood cleanups in Philadelphia.
Terrill Haigler, better known by his online moniker of Ya Fav Trashman, and the condiment brand HotBox Philly are teaming up to help clean Philadelphia's neighborhoods.
They're releasing a mango habanero hot sauce, called Street Heat, on Friday that can be purchased for $10 on HotBox Philly's website and at pop-up events in the city. Ten percent of the proceeds will go to Haigler's organization, Trash 2 Treasure, to fund neighborhood cleanups and environmental justice programs.
Haigler and HotBox want to sell 25,00 bottles by Earth Day, which is April 22. If they meet their goal, they plan to organize a large cleanup and community party.
Street Heat is made from mangos, habaneros, tomatoes, bell peppers, onion, salt, garlic and apple cider vinegar. It's vegan and gluten-free.
HotBox's Radhi Fernandez said the sauce starts off sweet with a mild, rising heat, so it's "not a challenging hot sauce." He said he built his business trying to prioritize flavor over heat, and he doesn't use sugars, additives or preservatives.
"I try to just make everything as natural as possible, because it's supposed to be an additive for your food without being an unhealthy one," Fernandez said.
Haigler and Fernandez plan to hold pop-up events in the city and at Fernandez's kitchen in Kensington in the new year. They're pitching the hot sauce as a way to "save a local business and raise money for a cleaner Philadelphia," Haigler said.
Street Heat was born after Fernandez messaged Haigler on LinkedIn to thank him for this work in the community — Haigler, a former sanitation worker, organizes cleanups and collects trash from illegal dumping spots around the city. The next day, Haigler was in his kitchen discussing ideas for a hot sauce collaboration, Fernandez said.
It came at the perfect time for Fernandez, who said HotBox has been struggling in recent years. Fernandez said he's reached a point where he needs to decide whether he'll be able to continue HotBox, but he hopes the collaboration gives him a little lift to keep the business going.
For Haigler, the collaboration comes after he fulfilled a years-long dream in late December 2024 by purchasing a trash truck for his operations. Now, he has two, and he plans to expand his work next year into the construction business to help keep the streets clean.
But "2026 is looking really clean," Haigler said. He's excited to shift his efforts toward environmental justice issues, he said, because he thinks the city is doing a great job of getting to some of the hot spots for trash and illegal dumping.
"I'm kind of getting pushed out of the market when it comes to cleanups, which is OK, which is what I wanted, which is what's the goal," Haigler said. "I didn't want to have to be doing cleanups until I'm 50. I would love for Philadelphia to get clean by next year. So this is just a good shift for me to shift into creating green jobs for returning citizens and the youth here in Philly."
