Street Stewards pitches countywide adoption app, offers supplies for Encinitas launch

Scott Horst, co-director of the nonprofit Street Stewards, asked the Encinitas Environmental Commission to help seed a local volunteer litter-adoption program and described a planned countywide website and future phone app during the commission’s December meeting.

Horst said Street Stewards aims to automate its block-adoption mapping so volunteers can register adoptions, log pickups and post photos. “We’re going to automate the adoption process. Each adopter is going to have their own profile on this site,” Horst said, adding the group expects the website to launch by the end of January and is targeting a nationwide phone app by 2026.

The program, founded in 2018 by Aaron Noll and sustained in part by local volunteers, now operates in about 10 communities and counts roughly 1,000 volunteers countywide, Horst said. He described a captain model—teams of two to three local captains who recruit volunteers, lead monthly or twice-monthly group pickups, and coordinate with partner organizations such as Rotary clubs and local businesses.

Horst offered to supply Encinitas with starter equipment, saying he would provide 20 branded litter pickers, safety gear and shirts for initial volunteers. He also encouraged considering a Caltrans highway-adoption as an anchor project and described how captains receive Caltrans safety training for freeway-adjacent sites.

City staff described the local reporting process commissioners should use for collected trash. Crystal (city staff) told the commission the city’s My Encinitas app can be used to report piles of litter and request pickup; Horst said pickup scheduling varies by jurisdiction and that Caltrans historically provided a small stipend for some adoptions before those funds ran out.

Horst described metrics and features planned for the website: color-coded maps to show which blocks are adopted, mileage and percent-adopted metrics initially, a leader dashboard to show active volunteers, and a donate function that is already set up. He said the nonprofit received $35,000 in Neighborhood Reinvestment Program grants in 2024 and has conducted Caltrans adoptions and large downtown group pickups in San Diego.

Commissioners asked about safety, disposal logistics and flexibility of the second-Saturday group pickups; Horst said individual adopters may pick up litter on their own schedules and captains can choose alternate dates. He also noted that some pickups—particularly Caltrans cloverleaf locations—require specific safety gear and preapproval of dates.

Horst said Street Stewards will hold an Encinitas kickoff group pickup at 8:30 a.m. on Jan. 11, 2025, meeting at Panikin. He said he will attend and bring pickers and supplies to start the program locally.

The commission did not take formal action on the presentation but scheduled the item for local coordination and outreach by commissioners who expressed interest.