Gasparilla 2025: Here’s how to recycle your beads
TAMPA, Fla. - As pirates pillage and plunder the city of Tampa, a boatload of beads will be tossed and captured as bounty.
While beads of all shapes and sizes are a key part of Gasparilla, many end up in the Bay. That’s why Tampa’s Department of Solid Waste asks all pirates and parade-goers to take unwanted beads to designated collection sites through the Bead-Free Bay initiative.
RELATED: Gasparilla 2025: Here’s what to know about the annual pirate parade
Where to drop off beads
What we know:
Gasparilla revelers can take unwanted beads to the following collection sites during normal business hours from January 27 to May 2025.
- 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.
Read: Children’s Gasparilla 2025: Here’s what to know
What is the Bead-free Bay initiative?
The Bead-Free Bay is a campaign in partnership with the Florida Aquarium, Green Gasparilla, Pirate Water Taxi, Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla, Krewe of Sant ‘Yago, and others.
Why you should care:
Throwing plastic beads and other litter in the water is prohibited under federal law and Florida Statute 403.413.
Beads never decompose and take a thousand years to break down into smaller pieces called microplastics, which stay in natural ecosystems for at least 100 years.
Beads are incredibly harmful to our environment and pose serious threats to marine wildlife.
The Bead Re-Use Program
What we know:
The Bead Reuse Program was created in partnership with the MacDonald Training Center, an area non-profit that strives to empower people with disabilities.
Clients at the MacDonald Training Center clean and package the beads to be used next year. At the same time, the clients are getting vocational skills.
By the numbers:
Since the program began in 2018, the MacDonald Training Center has processed over 20,750 pounds of beads with the help of Keep Tampa Bay Beautiful volunteers and city staff so they can be sanitized, repackaged, and reused.
What they're saying:
"We encourage all our pirates to give back their loot through the Bead Reuse Program," said Mayor Jane Castor. "Over recent years, Tampa pirates have been more generous than we thought and have turned in thousands of pounds of their treasure. I'm hoping maybe this year we can set a record."
Click here to learn more.
The Source: This story was written with information provided by the city of Tampa.
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