By Kolby R. LaMarche

The BTV Clean Up Crew is relaunching its efforts to combat “fascist propaganda and hateful stickers” in Burlington, calling for volunteers and donations. Originally founded in 2019 as an independent group, the crew is dedicated to removing flyers and stickers in public spaces that it deems unacceptable and threatening to the community.

Now operating as a project of the Peace Justice Center, a nonprofit focused on global peace and social justice, the group continues its mission. However, in addition to cleaning up stickers and removing flyers, the group is adding picking up needle litter to their pick-up list. The group says it meets once or twice a week. 

Since its inception, the BTV Clean Up Crew has crowdsourced donations for local nonprofits, tying contributions to the number of hateful stickers and flyers they remove each month. Before COVID-19, group members spent weekends clearing hateful materials and picking up roadside trash. The pandemic forced a shift in how they operated, but their impact remained strong. In 2021, they removed over 230 hate stickers and flyers, according to the group.

In 2023, the group removed 244 hateful stickers and raised $5,600, equating to roughly $23 per sticker. The group fundraised on every sticker they scraped off a lamp post or bulletin wall, using the stickers message as their call for help. These funds were donated to local organizations, including Migrant Justice, Black Lives Matter of Greater Burlington, Food Not Cops, and Gender Inclusive Vermont, among others.

The BTV Clean Up Crew’s work is straightforward: volunteers patrol Burlington’s streets, peeling off stickers and flyers that promote hate or division. By removing symbols of hate, they aim to foster a safer, more inclusive environment while amplifying the work of organizations addressing systemic issues, the group said.A 2024 Burlington ordinance proposal aimed to allow residents to sue over hateful graffiti or stickers, but First Amendment concerns led to the removal of a “hate crime enhancement” clause, with the ACLU of Vermont warning of selective enforcement risks, free speech violations, and the risk of litigation.