TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — It’s almost that time when pirates take to the streets and invade Tampa Bay! While thousands are expected to flock to downtown Tampa for the 2024 Gasparilla parade, the city is reminding paradegoers to keep their beads out of the bay.
Just like every Gasparilla, it’s a tradition that pirates sling beads into the massive crowds, but with throwing beads comes a messy cleanup.
In order to keep Tampa’s waterways bead-free, the city will place recycling bins around Tampa for residents to drop off their unwanted beads.
Pirates can recycle their beads at these locations:
- Copeland Park Community Center, 1101 N. 15th Street
- Kate Jackson Community Center, 831 S Rome Avenue
- Loretta Ingraham Recreation Complex, 1611 N Hubert Avenue
- MacDonald Training Center, 5420 W Cypress Street
The beads collected from this year’s Gasparilla celebrations will be taken to the MacDonald Training Center, where they will be sanitized, repackaged, and resold back to parade crews for other city events. All proceeds from the sales will fund career and education programs at the center.
The city of Tampa is also reminding visitors and residents that throwing beads or any other items in the water is prohibited, according to Florida Statute 403.413. Beads and other non-biodegradable items are harmful to the environment and marine wildlife.
The festive beaded necklaces take a thousand years to break down into smaller pieces called microplastics, which never decompose. These microplastics remain persistent in the natural ecosystems for hundreds of years or longer, so be sure to recycle the beads when you’re done!
