A bottle of water from Aquafina sits in front of the Hillsborough River and Tampa skyline. Photo courtesy of Hayden Randolph.
By Hayden Randolph
TAMPA, Fla. — Tampa Bay is behind in recycling plastic and other materials, but the city is exploring ways to expand its program.
According to the city of Tampa’s website, residents can recycle plastic bottles and jugs. However, the items must be larger than a fist. Items must also be emptied, rinsed, and dried. Residents should not use the plastic resin number, as not all of those items are accepted locally.
“We are collecting plastic alongside many other types of materials like paper, aluminum, metal,” Edgar Castro Tello, interim waste diversion and outreach supervisor for the city of Tampa, said.
Tello said that 2.6% of total items recycled in Tampa are materials similar to water bottles. 1% is colored plastic, like laundry detergent containers, and 0.7% are items like milk jugs. All other plastic makes up 5.4%. The most recycled material in Tampa is cardboard at almost 20%.
Tampa wants to expand the types of material it can recycle, but there are ways to change how materials are sold to the consumer through extended producer responsibility, Tello said.
“States are enforcing manufacturers to make items that can be recycled, and they have to help fund infrastructure to take those materials back,” Tello said. “So that is the future.”
The state of Florida is behind in those types of policies, Tello said.
One way that Tampa cleans its waterways and the bay is through the litter skimmer, Tello said. It has been active for three years and picks up floating litter and trash. It collects 39,000 pounds of trash a year, according to the city of Tampa’s website.
Earlier this year, Florida received a 1.5 out of 5 stars for its plastic pollution, according to the Ocean Conservancy. The state has laws limiting its ability to regulate single-use plastics. Florida does not have any laws addressing plastic reduction or microplastics.
The Northeast Recycling Council defines microplastics as “small plastic fragments that are less than 5 millimeters (mm) in size — slightly larger than one-eighth inch.” They can be introduced to the environment through plastic mulching, litter, irrigation water, food waste depackaging, and more.
A 2022 study found that microplastics can potentially harm human health through “biological, chemical, or physical damage” caused by toxic chemicals and contaminants.
A study from the University of South Florida St. Petersburg and Eckerd College in 2019 found that there were around four billion microplastic particles and over three trillion pieces in surface sediments in the entire Tampa Bay estuary.
Keep Tampa Bay Beautiful was established in 1989 and is an affiliate of Keep America Beautiful. It organizes about 24,000 volunteers annually to conduct cleanups targeting litter and trash. The organization also aims to prevent littering through education, said Ashley Burd, education and adoptions manager.
“Each year, our volunteers remove hundreds of thousands of pounds of litter and debris from Hillsborough County,” Burd said in an email. “Beyond cleanups, our programs help restore habitats, plant trees, and engage youth in environmental education.”
Keep Tampa Bay Beautiful is staffed by six individuals. Burd said the organization’s efforts have built a stronger sense of environmental responsibility and community pride.
“We collaborate closely with the city of Tampa on environmental initiatives, our Adopt-A-Road program, and community improvement projects,” Burd said. “These partnerships help coordinate resources, expand volunteer reach, and ensure our collective efforts have a lasting impact on the health and beauty of our local environment.”
The Ocean Conservancy recommends that Florida remove restrictions on local governments regulating single-use plastics and reverse policies that allow harmful chemical recycling processes and technologies. The organization mentions that Florida has an opportunity to be an example of sustainable tourism.
Other areas in Florida have programs dedicated to plastic. Miami-Dade County’s Plastic Free 305 program celebrates businesses “dedicated to reducing or eliminating the purchase and use of single-use plastics through the adoption of reuse and sustainable replacement strategies,” according to its website.
The city of Orlando introduced a ban on single-use plastic bags, straws, and foam at city events and venues. The goal of the ban is to “further advance the environmental sustainability of Orlando by reducing the use of nonbiodegradable polystyrene products and single-use plastics in the city,” according to its website.
“I think there should be more focus on cleaning up, but then also finding ways to avoid plastic getting into the water,” said Brooklyn Perkins, junior marine science major at the University of Tampa.
Perkins said there should be more recycling bins along the riverwalk and more effort put into cleaning up the river. She said she does not notice the city of Tampa doing a lot to address trash in the river.
“The environment’s health is very important, not just for us, but for the animals that live in the water,” Tello said.