Waste Pioneer(s): Adopt Your Spot Heroes!
Join these New Yorkers and take action against litter.
Each heart above represents a spot being stewarded by one of our amazing Adopters.
We launched our Adopt Your Spot NYC program last spring on Earth Day, and we’ve been absolutely floored by the enthusiastic response from New Yorkers who want to step up to help keep their neighborhoods — and therefore their city at large — clean.
So, as part of our Waste Pioneer blog series we wanted to take some time to profile some stand-out volunteers who have Adopted Spots all around New York City and made dedicated efforts to make a small but serious difference. Thank you to everyone who has joined so far. We are so thrilled by all members of our community taking action to make a difference in their community — and by acting local, modeling cleanliness for all boroughs.
Get to know: Joyce
Neighborhood: Rego Park
Joyce and friends at a recent Sanitation Foundation cleanup in Queens. Joyce says that telling friends about your efforts yields a lot of curiosity and gratitude, and inviting friends and family along is the best way to inspire others to take action.
A graduate of the Sanitation Foundation’s Trash Academy, Joyce is an active and passionate community volunteer. She has also worked the Queens and Manhattan Solid Waste Advisory Boards collecting bottles, cigarette butts, vapes and other trash to be used for audits. She is currently a volunteer with New York Cares, distributing warm meals and fruits and vegetables at her local Salvation Army — a City Harvest partner — and a Call Team Volunteer for Heart of Dinner.
Growing up in Elmhurst, Queens, Joyce wasn’t fazed by litter.
“When I was much younger, I’d litter if it was convenient. I didn’t grasp the impact it’d have on the environment in the long term; it wasn’t something that was deeply embedded in my mind, I wasn’t well-educated on the subject and thankfully never experienced its effects.”
Later, Joyce began to understand the eventual effects of actions like tossing gum wrappers and popsicle sticks on the street.
“Proper trash disposal is one of the basic etiquettes of being a decent human.”
“I started to realize my mistakes. I began to consider the people who’d have to clean up after me—how if someone saw me litter, they’d think it was okay for them to do it, too. I became overwhelmed by thoughts of people leaving their garbage everywhere, neglecting—whether intentionally or unintentionally—the planet’s well-being, and often felt sad (still do) thinking about the lack of care and awareness of collective responsibility, individualism, and the doom that lies ahead if we don’t start taking waste—and all that it entails and impacts—seriously. Now, I have a natural aversion to people throwing plastic cigarette box wrappers into the bushes after opening up a new pack, or leaving their unfinished lunch and plastic bubble tea cup or can of Coke next to a fire hydrant or construction barrel.”
“Easier days come with a few plastic cups, cans, Capri Sun pouches, greasy foil, and torn pieces of paper lying around, which I can easily pick up and carry in a couple garbage bags to transport to my nearest trash and recycling bins," says Joyce. "And then some days there are protein bottles, food containers, wet napkins, paper and plastic bags (often filled with things I’d rather not specify), McDonald’s fries box, burger wrappers, straws, chip bags and almost everything you could possibly find if you were to pour out a nearby trash can.”
Joyce appreciates the Adopt Your Spot program because it’s a flexible and easy way to give back amid a busy New York schedule. Participants can clean on their own schedule, as much or as little as they can. Joyce cleans her spot every other week, and opts to clean at the beginning or end of the week because “it’s a lot like kicking off a fresh new week or ending it on a strong note.”
“It provides a unique sense of responsibility while being personally fulfilling since it’s your very own spot to keep clean. It’s about inspiring others through cultivating a culture of care for our environment and creating a ripple effect that goes beyond our individual efforts.”
Get to know: Richard
Neighborhood: Queens
“I joined Adopt Your Spot NYC because I wanted to do something from the heart that benefits the community,” says Richard.
He was originally inspired by the nonprofit organization We Love U, which does clean ups all over the world, but particularly inspired by the example of his mother and her neighbors, who already work hard to keep the tree pits in front of their home “super beautiful” by building fences, adding signs, and adding plants. This labor of love moved him to join the cause and adopt a tree pit on his block and also in front of the Church he attends.
Some examples of the beautiful tree beds that inspire Richard in his neighborhood.
He says Adopt Your Spot is an easy way to give back.
“To those who are considering — or have never considered — adopting a spot, I would tell them to pick a small spot that means something to them.”
It starts with any goal, whether big or small, and any area that you keep clean benefits that area and the larger environment.”
Richard’s spots require only a small commitment, and keeping them clean fits into his routines. He passes by one every Tuesday and Saturday, and since he already cleans his own home every day by sweeping the front, he wanted to bring that attitude to more places.
“I always thought about adopting a spot, but never took action. Once you set a goal, whether it be small or big, if it comes from your heart, it’s going to impact not just yourself but other people around you.”
From small, caring steps, big changes can happen.
ICYMI: Check out Richard’s feature over on our Instagram!
Get to know: Jordan
Neighborhood: North Brooklyn
"Wear really good gloves!" recommends Jordan when it comes to picking up trash.
Jordan adopted the whole block on her side of the street (the length of about 30 townhouses!). She moved to New York 15 years ago, and decided it was time to start caring for her neighborhood with more intention.
In her day job, Jordan works in corporate social responsibility for an international manufacturing company. She says the issues at work often feel really huge and daunting, whereas the small act of cleaning up can help a person see the measurable and meaningful impact of their work and effort.
“[After Hurricane Ida], there was so much trash in the storm drains on my street, I remember thinking, ‘Okay, I can't solve climate change or these other things that I'm trying to do at work, but I can't make sure this street doesn't flood, at least today.”
Jordan nods to grassroots organizations and mutual aid work — such as the Clean Up Crown Heights group — as inspiration.
“I'm happy to be in a neighborhood where I do have neighbors like that that are participating.”
Adopt Your Spot NYC offered the perfect way for her to mimic the work of Clean Up Crown Heights, but on her own schedule. “It's as big as you want to take on: a whole neighborhood, or it can be just your own stoop, and it makes an immediate difference.”
“To be able to have an immediate, direct service impact for myself — when I walk down the street — but for my neighbors, too, is something that, very truly, anyone can do.”
Jordan highlights the list of benefits of Adopt Your Spot NYC:
“My friends joke that I am ‘the trash girl’ now — and I laugh, but it's such a nice thing to do that gives me a lot of pride, while also it really helps me achieve a lot of the goals I set out for myself over the last couple years.”
Fitness goal ✅ “I'm getting my steps in. I always call it like the hot girl walk, but with a trash picker.”
It keeps you off your phone. “I literally can't look at my phone while I'm picking up trash and handling stuff with gloves on. I've been listening to podcasts, listening to audiobooks…just walking and giggling…”
Grow your local community. “It's given me a really nice and organic way to meet my neighbors. Having those small chit-chats has been awesome.”
Develop a sense of civic and neighborhood pride. Jordan says she doesn’t garden much, but keeping her block clean gives her that same satisfaction of caring for the landscape. “It feels good to be a physical part of the neighborhood and try to help out a little bit.”
Cleanliness! “It's definitely helped get rid of some of the rats on my street.”
Cleaning up her block has also made Jordan even more aware of her own waste.
“It really makes me think about the amount of household trash I put out. I am responsible too, and I always think, ‘This could be my potato chip wrapper or could be my medicine…’ any of these things you see, there's always a good chance… it really makes me think about what I'm throwing away and how I'm throwing it away.”
“It's pretty consistent that on just my side of the block, we can consistently fill at least two bags of trash once a week.”
“It’s always shocking: even after having done litter cleanups, even in places that seem clean, even if it’s just cigarette butts, the constant little things that still have to keep getting picked up…”
Especially because a dirty street is sometimes just part of the chaos of New York. “There was probably a rat that opened a trash bag and made the street dirty for everyone, and that is no one's fault.”
Jordan shares her Pro Tips & Best Practices for Safely Adopting a Spot.
Get to know: Renee
Neighborhood: Bronx
New York native Renee was looking for ways to get involved in making New York a better place when she found and enrolled in our Trash Academy, which then inspired her to join Adopt Your Spot NYC.
Growing up in the city, she didn’t really notice litter, but over the years she has become more aware of her and our direct impact on the cleanliness of New York.
For instance: “With a lot of people smoking—you can smoke, but then that's your personal stuff…why throw your stuff on the streets? Because when we are picking up, we pick up so many cigarettes, a lot of cigarette butts. Cigarette butts and food. If people eat food outside, they just throw the bones on the side. They don't even use the garbage. They throw the paper. It's paper, food, cigarette butts, bottles, and cans…”
Too much, in short, so Renee decided to take some action. About twice a week, she gets out there and picks up what trash her neighbors leave behind. She tries to be diligent about cleaning on Saturdays, so that “at least on Sunday it will be clean…”
Renee, and her friend Mikey, a neighbor who enjoys helping her out just to do a good deed, are committed to keeping their neighborhood tidy!
She says her involvement is inspiring people in her neighborhood to join in. Renee likes this aspect of encouraging others by being the example. Sometimes, her neighbors, or building tenants observing, or guards, will even join in and help.
“I've been getting a lot of people asking me if they could clean up, too. And they thank me for doing it. That makes me feel really good, because we all know each other around here, after being neighbors for years — but nobody has ever taken the initiative to do anything about litter.”
“People want to do this thing. I tell them about the Sanitation Foundation [when they ask what I am doing]. I never give up. I don't know if they do it or not, but, you know, I will tell them again [about what I am doing], and they notice, and it seems like they really want to get involved too.”
