Tired of dodging trash piles? Here’s how you can help

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Are you tired of seeing piles of trash on the streets and sidewalks in your neighborhood? A newly introduced program in New York City is hoping to make a difference and combat the war on trash. ‘Adopt Your Spot’ is a program that encourages people to adopt a location that’s meaningful to them and can keep it clean for a year. The spot can be anything from a neighborhood block to a row of tree beds or even a messy catch basin. The initiative was launched in April by the Sanitation Foundation, a nonprofit partner to the Department of Sanitation. Around 275 spots across the city have been adopted and are being cleaned up by New Yorkers. "Every little bit really does make a difference. We have plenty of folks who can only commit to a single tree bed in front of their apartment, and that's more than enough. I mean, every single person in the city committed to every week or every couple of weeks keeping one tiny spot clean, the city would be so much cleaner," said Morgan Villavosa, program manager of Adopt your Spot NYC. Adopters are given a starter sanitation kit that includes gloves, trash bags and garbage pickers. DaNell Mulvey decided to adopt a spot in front of her home in Throggs Neck. "It's no longer about I'm cleaning up after someone else. I'm doing my part to keep the city from just being covered in litter. And that's really what it is. I mean, there's a whole row of garbage cans here, and yet there's litter on the ground and it doesn't make sense to me," said Mulvey. Across the Bronx, in Morrisania, is where Renee Banks cleans up 169th Street and Boston Road and her second spot on Franklin Avenue weekly. "You clean up and then you come back out and then you can see the paper and the bags actually just flying in your area. So, yeah, I clean up and it gets dirty pretty quick," said Banks. Banks says she works with business oweners near her spot to help with the cleanup efforts in front of their storefronts. "I want people to see me doing this so they can get involved. Also, I've been having so many questions about how they could get involved? And I tell them and they are really true to it," said Banks. Here's how you can get involved and adopt a spot: Adopt Your Spot NYC — Sanitation Foundation "