Hopewell Township and Friends of Hopewell Valley Open Space (FoHOVOS) are pleased to announce that updates to the Clean Communities Program will provide a win-win for both the environment and for nonprofit groups that receive funds in 2022. This year, the program will offer a higher wage, which will serve as an incentive for groups to participate in the bi-annual cleanup days in Hopewell Valley, leaving our streets and parks cleaner, while also helping local nonprofits. The updated program will increase the hourly wage recipients receive beginning in April 2022.
Funded under New Jersey Clean Communities, individuals or groups of volunteers track their time spent collecting trash and recyclables from local streets and public places. They are “paid” by designating a nonprofit or school club to receive donations for each hour of work. The hourly rate paid out since 2002 has been stagnant at $8/hour but, beginning in April 2022, those rates will increase to a more competitive wage.
In announcing this exciting change to the program, FoHVOS Executive Director Lisa Wolff said, “For the last 20 years, Clean Communities has paid clubs and nonprofits $8 an hour for every hour worked to clean up local streets. We are happy to report that Hopewell Township has agreed to raise the hourly rate to $11 and an anonymous donor has offered to match $2 of the hourly contribution for a total of $13 hour for ages 13+ for our April 9 clean up day.”
For more than 20 years, FoHVOS has administered the Clean Communities Program for Hopewell Township by organizing volunteers, cleaning areas, and providing necessary items including vests, gloves, bags and more.
Hopewell Township Mayor Courtney Peters-Manning stated: “In 2021, in addition to beautifying Hopewell Valley public spaces by removing tons of both recyclables and litter, Clean Communities work surpassed $100,000 in donations to local nonprofits. We are pleased that, in 2022, Hopewell Township will increase the hourly rate to have a larger impact on both the environment and associated nonprofits.”
New Jersey Clean Communities is a statewide, comprehensive, litter-abatement program created by the passage of The Clean Communities Act in 1986. The mission is to reduce litter in public places, promote the volunteer cleanup of public lands, and sustain a reduction in litter through education. The Act provides a funding source for the program taxing fifteen categories of businesses that may produce litter-generating products. The program focuses on three areas: cleanup, education, and enforcement. Most of the tax money collected goes to municipalities and is restricted to use for litter abatement programs. Payment to school or nonprofit groups for cleanup work is a permitted cost. For more information on the State program visit njclean.org.
Register here to participate in the April 9 Clean Communities Day. Participants will meet at the Hopewell Township Public Works building to pick up supplies and get your cleanup location assignment.
