Five second recap: On Earth Day 2024, the Sanitation Foundation, the official nonprofit partner of NYC Department of Sanitation (DSNY) announced their new Adopt Your Spot NYC program. Similar to the adopt a highway clean up programs that have been popular for years, Adopt a Spot focuses on smaller areas.
In April 2024 in honor of Earth Day, the Sanitation Foundation, the official nonprofit partner of NYC Department of Sanitation (DSNY), announced their new Adopt Your Spot NYC program. We caught up with Morgan Villavaso, the program manager for the Adopt Your Spot program who explained the program.
Related: What to Know About the New NYC Trash Bin“You know how when you’re driving down the road and see signs every couple of miles that say so and so adopted this spot on the highway? Adopt Your Spot is similar but more localized” Villavaso said in an interview for CITIBIN. “We’re asking New Yorkers to adopt a spot that is special to them. Or if they see a spot with a lot of litter that needs a lot of love, they can sign up to clean up litter in that particular area."
It’s easy to adopt your proverbial spot. Simply head to the Adopt Your Spot portion of the Sanitation Foundation website. You can search for the area of your choice and then sign up to do as much as clean an entire block, or simply the flowers in front of your building. There’s a great feature where you can see who else signed up, the areas they chose to clean up and even their motivation for signing up.
Villavaso said there’s also the option of signing up to receive a free starter gift to help you clean up your spot in the city. Inside you’ll find a set of trash gloves, a litter picker and a start-up guide.
Villavaso said that the program is meant to be small and practical, so that it can fit into everyone’s routine. She said a lot of people adopt a tree bed in front of their home. The largest area adopted so far is a 10-block-stretch. But don’t be overwhelmed by that big commitment. “It’s whatever you can do,” Villavaso said. “If you can handle one tree bed you can clean up, you’re in.” She explained that if everyone in New York adopted one tiny spot, the city would be so much cleaner.
And if you want to clean up with co-workers, that’s cool too. “While Adopt Your Spot is geared to individuals, we also have programs for organizations,” Villavaso said. “We work directly with corporations organizing cleanups and we help getting started.”
While the idea of cleaning up garbage can sound weird to some, Villavaso said there’s already a lot of enthusiasm for the program. “There seems to be a lot of people who notice waste management and notice it on a day to day basis but don’t know where to start. This program is filling an important need. There are so many people taking it on themselves to keep their block clean. This recognizes their work in a more formal way. It can be a great entry point for people to get involved and do that kind of work.”
Don’t worry that this is a complicated program with loads of rules. “This program is one that’s meant to fit into your lifestyle and your needs, whatever they are,” Villavaso said. “This isn’t a program where we’re asking for a lot of reporting. Whatever you can do is more than enough. Whatever you can do is amazing.
Villavasso said if you have a lot of time on your hands every other day, or if you adopt a tree bed and can do it once a week, that’s great. If you can commit to one teeny thing, that’s amazing. The goal is for every New Yorker to be able to participate, whether it’s part of your daily walk or along with a group of friends. It’s also an opportunity to become plugged into the world of sustainability.
Stay tuned as the program grows with a regular newsletter and private WhatsApp group.
If you have time to browse the website, you’ll be treated to really heartwarming or funny reasons people chose to adopt a particular spot.
“My neighbor inspired me by taking care of one of these spots next to my cafe for a few years. And it looks so beautiful. I would like to take the spot next to it so maybe I can inspire someone else to do the same and eventually, our block would look so much better.”
“I live in the building on that corner! Also my landlord has been here for 3+ decades and always complains about people leaving garbage out. And she can’t bend down to pick it up but I think she would if she could. I can and I want to and she’s a great landlord so partly doing it for her.
And two from tree lovers:
“The Tree/Garden area near the public sidewalk that's home to an extremely old and beautiful tree.”
“There are two recently planted trees in front of the building, in which I live.
I would like to take responsibility for keep this area clean, show pride in our area. These trees are between 3rd and 4th Avenues, closest to 4th Avenue.”
Whatever your reason, we love that you’ll be making your neighborhood and our city look beautiful and trash free!
About the Sanitation Foundation: The Sanitation Foundation is the official nonprofit partner of the New York Department of Sanitation. Their mission is to support their work to help clean up the city and reduce waste sent to landfills. This is done by engaging individuals, communities, schools, elected officials and corporate partners.
For more information and to see an interactive map with spots already claimed, visit Adopt Your Spot.
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