HOPKINSVILLE, KY (CHRISTIAN COUNTY NOW) – In four months, the community of Hopkinsville has cleaned up 128 miles worth of city street litter totaling, 416 bags of trash through the Trash for Cash program.
Trash for Cash is a grant funded program through the Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection, Division of Waste Management who gives Hopkinsville Beautification money to pay non-profit groups to clean the city streets. Each year, the city receives an amount that equals half of the city’s total street mileage which equals out to 183 miles of streets.
When groups pick up trash, they are paid $75 per mile or $150 per mile depending if a larger street is involved.
According to Heather Braun, Beautification Coordinator, the program runs from May to October. “It typically allows us to do most of the streets that accumulate the most litter at least once per year, sometimes twice,” Braun said.
Most groups pick up trash for their own non-profit, but there are some groups that choose to donate their money to a non-profit of their choice, allowing for more groups to participate.
“We typically have school groups, churches, and some other local groups such as Kiwanis participating,” Braun said.
So far this year, Trash for Cash has seen 13 groups with five more planned.
One of the biggest problems in beautifying Hopkinsville according to Braun is the litter. “Some areas of town are kept very clean by their residents, but some areas, especially well-driven areas and cut-throughs, have a huge litter problem.”
Trash for Cash was created to alleviate this problem all while encouraging residents to volunteer, take pride in their community, and stop littering.
If anyone is interested in participating in Trash for Cash, they can contact Heather Braun at 270-890-0600, by email at heather.braun@h-ky.us or check out the city website.