DelDOT expands ‘Work-a-Day Earn-a-Pay’ program

A program to tackle both low employment and litter is expanding beyond Wilmington.

Gov. John Carney, Mayor Mike Purzycki, and Secretary of Transportation Jennifer Cohan on July 11 announced the expansion of the Work-a-Day Earn-a-Pay Program Pilot.

The $150,000 pilot initiative funded by the Department of Transportation created a partnership with Goodwill of Delaware to hire 46 individuals who collected 759 bags of trash along the I-95 corridor in Wilmington. Cleanups were performed three times per week.

“As we work to “˜Keep DE Litter Free,’ this program is a great example of how we can put people to work and address the litter problem that exists across our state,” said Carney. “With DelDOT and Goodwill of Delaware working together, this program will expand statewide beginning on August 1, and broaden our litter cleanup efforts.”

DelDOT will provide $483,000 in funding for the expanding program, which will support the addition of four, seven-person crews to the program and sustain the current crews working in Wilmington. The expanded program will increase the frequency of I-95 ramp cleanups in Wilmington as well as target other high-litter areas in New Castle, Kent, and Sussex counties.

“We are very happy with the results of the pilot program in Wilmington and believe it can be beneficial in other areas of the state as well,” said Cohan. “DelDOT is investing $2 million toward litter cleanup across the state and we need everyone to do their part to stop littering on our roadways.”