NYC Sanitation is Giving Away Free Knicks Trash Cans

But you have to pick yours up in person

NYC Sanitation Knicks Trash Can Parade Theft

News

By RC Staff

28 June 2026

Key Points

DSNY is giving away five Knicks-themed litter baskets worth far more than their $0 entry fee
Only NY is selling a smaller retail version of the same colorway for $168 final sale
Entries close July 3 at 5pm and winners are picked at random later this summer

After a hectic week of celebrations, minor rioting, and at least one cushy job lost in the pandemonium, things are finally quieting down in New York. NYC Sanitation has announced a limited giveaway of their ultra-viral Knicks trash cans, and you can enter right now. The only catch is that these cans must be picked up, in-person, in Lower Manhattan.

What's The Deal with Knicks Trash Cans?

After the Knicks won their first title since 1973, Only NY and DSNY hand-painted a batch of the city’s standard corner litter baskets in Knicks blue and orange for the championship parade route. We covered the inevitable: those bins were not surviving contact with a few hundred thousand delirious fans. They didn’t.

One theft in particular went viral. A JPMorgan executive director was filmed dumping the trash out of one of the bins and walking off with it after the parade. She lost her job and a six-figure salary over the clip, and DSNY hit her with a $75 littering fine and a $100 fine for interfering with sanitation operations after the can was returned.

DSNY’s response was to lean all the way into the bit. The department announced it’s giving away five of the exact same full-size litter baskets used on the parade route, calling the contest “No Need to Knick a Bin.” Commissioner Gregory Anderson made the dig explicit in the announcement, noting there’s no reason to lift one off the street when the city will just give you one.

These aren’t the small retail versions. The giveaway baskets are the genuine article: about 28 inches tall, 21.5 inches across the top, and 30 pounds of stainless mesh.

How to Enter

Anyone 18 or older can enter once through the city’s official form, no purchase or cost involved. You’ll need to provide your name, email, address, and phone number, and opt in to DSNY emails.

Entries close July 3 at 5pm, and winners are chosen at random. Remember, you’ll need to pick your can up in person from Lower Manhattan if chosen, so don’t enter if you’re not willing to make the drive (or subway trip).

Resell Strategy

We still haven’t seen any Knicks trash cans emerge for sale on eBay, so we can’t provide any accurate comps on what these are worth. It’s not clear if NYC Sanitation has been successful at deterring thieves, or if Knicks fans prefer to keep their cans as ill-gotten trophies.

In any case, you can’t beat free. This giveaway presents another advantage for resellers in terms of timeliness: the official cans available from Only NY’s store don’t ship until October. If you can pick one up early, you’ll have one of the only (legally acquired) cans on the market until fall.

If you’re in NYC and don’t mind toting this back to your tiny, overpriced apartment, this is well worth the effort. Even as a statement piece, these cans are valuable.