HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — The City of Tampa is cracking down on illegal dumping and littering.
This week crews went out to five different neighborhoods to clean up trash left on the roads, all in an extra effort to keep Tampa clean.
“Get out there and do the best we can and try to provide the residents with an extra added benefit of what we do," Roberta Bowmer, a senior inspector with the city, said.
We also spoke to Sandro Morales, a crew leader who's been doing this job for 16 years. He said they fill the truck up twice in one day, and in a week, they pick up 20 tons of trash.
“Sometimes this truck is all the way full to the top when we pick up garbage or we pick up furniture or even shopping carts that people leave behind," Morales said.
It's not just cups and water bottles that are left out. Bowmer explained that illegal dumping is an issue.
“Illegal dumping is anything from furniture, couches. We run into the shopping carts, just anything that's left out, nobody owns it,” Bowmer said.
Those heavier pieces crews have to lift into the truck in the Florida heat, which is why Morales wants homeowners to think twice before tossing the bigger items to the end of the driveway.
“Instead of just putting the garbage in front of the house, call the right person for special pickups. I believe if homeowners would do that, it would help us out a lot more,” Morales said.
Click here to request a special trash pickup.
If you want to volunteer to help clean up the city, click here.
