Goodwill Industries of Hawaii has signed a $1.6 million, 31-month contract to keep Waikiki clean.

The Waikiki Business Improvement District Association awarded Goodwill the contract previously held by Hawaiian Building Maintenance.

As of last month, Goodwill employees clean sidewalks along Kalakaua and Kuhio avenues — from the Kalakaua Avenue Bridge to Kapahulu Avenue — and connecting side streets seven days a week over two shifts covering 6 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Their job includes picking up rubbish, emptying trash containers, removing graffiti, pressure-washing sidewalks, and cleaning up spills on sidewalks, street furniture and landscaped areas.

"It's good experience for me," said Derek Lopes, a Goodwill employee and job-training graduate. The 42-year-old Kalihi resident said he likes keeping the area clean as well as meeting people, including tourists who ask him for directions.

"Sometimes (the tourists) tell us we're doing a good job," he said.

The contract is part of the Waikiki Business Improvement District Association's nearly five-year-old "streetscape maintenance" program funded by area businesses.

Under the contract, Goodwill provides a 16-member custodial crew, which includes Goodwill employees and participants of the organization's human services program. The goal of the program is to give participants the work experience they need to help them move on to other jobs in the community, said Laura Kay Rand, vice president of corporate services for Goodwill Industries of Hawaii.

"This contract opportunity is in direct alignment with our mission of helping people to get really good jobs and be able to maintain those and look for promotable opportunities," Rand said.

Goodwill, a nonprofit corporation, provides job training and support services for people with employment barriers. Populations served by Goodwill include people transitioning off public assistance, at-risk youth and people with disabilities, Rand said.

Workers are paid a normal market rate for entry-level positions, said Jan Yamane, executive director of the Waikiki Business Improvement District Association. The contract follows a three-month pilot program with Goodwill last summer, she said.

"This was in line with our philosophy to — wherever we can — work to better the community through our programs," Yamane said.

"As we continued to grow as an organization we were also looking to be good corporate citizens, more socially responsible (and) environmentally aware."

The association is retaining private contractor Landscape Hawaii for landscaping services in the area, she said.

The nonprofit Waikiki Business Improvement District Association is made up of 1,600 Waikiki commercial property owners. The association is financed through assessments collected from members.

Reach Lynda Arakawa at larakawa@honoluluadvertiser.com.