City

Help clean up after Gasparilla

There are a few different ways to keep our area clean after the Gasparilla festivities.

January 26, 2024 • 
Patrick Sidwell
Colorful beads sit in a truck bed of all different colors, ready to be thrown out into Gasparilla crowds. The small circular objects are piled high.

There are several bead recycling options in the Tampa Bay area.

Photo by City of Tampa

Gasparilla has come and gone for another year — but contributing toward the celebration doesn’t have to be over. As proud Tampa Bay residents, keeping our area clean + beautiful is something we all want. Here are a few ways to help with the post-Gaspy cleanup:

  • Friends of the Tampa Riverwalk and Keep Tampa Bay Beautiful are partnering up for a Riverwalk cleanup this Saturday, Feb. 3, starting at USF Park. Make sure to sign up.
  • Small businesses are also doing their part — Cali and Fresh Kitchen are collecting leftover beads which will be donated to the MacDonald Training Center to be cleaned + repackaged for future use.
  • We already wrote about this one, but the Florida Aquarium is asking for beads in exchange for discounted admission.
  • There are several other bead drop-off locations around Tampa — including the Copeland Park Community Center (1101 N. 15th St.), and the Kate Jackson Community Center (831 S. Rome Ave.).