Clean Streets, Community Pride: How Local Engagement Moves the Needle on Litter
By Angus Jackson
Litter in New York City is as much the outcome of policy or waste systems as of the way that communities relate to their public spaces. When people organize, volunteer, or adopt sections of their neighborhood, the incidence of litter drops, social connection rises, and long-term transformation becomes feasible at the human scale.
Community cleanups demonstrate tangible results. The non-profit Litter Legion has coordinated more than 128 cleanups since 2020 with almost 1,846 volunteers, picking up over 13,300 pounds of trash, and keeping over 1,600 pounds of plastic, metal, and glass out of the dumpster. The numbers won't change the city's overall tonnage in the blink of an eye, but where the cleanups take place, there are noticeable enhancements as well as backyard pride among the residents.
Pitch iNYC challenges each New Yorker to grab one piece of trash each day. The concept is easy, but the ripple of the behavior adds up. Small things among the people count. Pitch iNYC hopes to instill a culture where littering is no longer acceptable because too many individuals take pride in the care of public spaces.
Aside from volunteerism, the Sanitation Foundation's 2025 survey of 1,000 New Yorkers reported that individuals still faulted others for trash, but about 50 percent reported that either the unavailability of trash baskets or the unavailability of trash baskets that are easily accessible contributed to why they or others throw trash. That suggests that attitudes within society, as well as society's infrastructure, need to be enhanced to facilitate effective engagement.
Local pride campaigns can also change what is acceptable. The "Don't Do NYC Dirty" campaign, as one example, uses civic pride with ads, street art, and signs that speak to pride in the city among New Yorkers. Campaign organizers defend the use of appealing to pride in one's neighborhood over the use of the threat of fines.
Infrastructure is often accompanied by community engagement. Well-designed trash baskets—like DSNY "Better Bins"—reduce overflow and misuse, so volunteer cleanups remain in place longer. When baskets are also rat-proof, leak-proof, and serviced as frequently as possible, volunteers' efforts won't be quickly overwhelmed with garbage spilling over. Service frequencies that baskets experience between five times per day or more readily show substantial variations in heavy-use locations.
Also, public toilets in parks demonstrate community use, and where toilets are kept in good condition with operational trash receptacles and proper maintenance, the incidence of litter is considerably less. During the 2024 survey of 102 park toilets, slightly over 30 percent of toilets lacked a trash can, and almost 40 percent had trash. Where simple infrastructure is inadequate, communal efforts and cleanups are frustrated.
In the end, residents have both moral and practical leverage. They can demand better services, begin cleanups, maintain shared spaces, and shift social norms so litter is frowned upon, not just legally prohibited. Creating more cleanup opportunities, better tools (bins, baskets), and messages that celebrate care rather than shame will work together to reduce litter sustainably.
Sources Used:
Litter Legion (https://www.litterlegion.org/)
Pitch iNYC (https://www.pitchinyc.org/)
More than a third of New Yorkers admit to littering in survey (https://api-prod.gothamist.com/news/more-than-a-third-of-new-yorkers-admit-to-littering-in-survey/)
‘Don’t Do NYC Dirty’ anti-litter campaign turns city pride into action (https://gothamist.com/news/dont-do-nyc-dirty-anti-litter-campaign-turns-city-pride-into-action)
Litter Basket | NYC Street Design Manual (https://www.nycstreetdesign.info/furniture/litter-basket)
Investigation of NYC park bathrooms finds alarming rate of litter, missing locks, and unsanitary conditions (https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/nyc-public-bathroom-park-problems/)