With sustainability in mind, Tampa’s Department of Solid Waste & Environmental Program Management is urging all Gasparilla pirates to take their unwanted beads to designated collection sites. This will divert them from Tampa's waste stream and put them back to good use for next year!
Now through May 2024, you can take your beads to these collection sites during their normal operating hours:
- Kate Jackson Community Center – 821 S Rome Ave.
- Loretta Ingraham Recreation Complex – 1611 N Hubert Ave.
- Copeland Park Center – 11001 N 15th St.
- MacDonald Training Center – 5420 W Cypress St.
The Bead Reuse Program was created in partnership with the MacDonald Training Center, a local non-profit working to empower people with disabilities. Beads are cleaned, repackaged, and reused during the next parade season, all while providing valuable, vocational skills gained by the training center’s clients.
From the inception of the program, with the help of Keep Tampa Bay Beautiful volunteers and city staff, over 330,000 individual bead necklaces, weighing over 10,000 lbs., have been delivered to the MacDonald Training Center for reuse.
For more information on the Bead Reuse Collection Program, visit Tampa.gov/BeadFreeBay.
