Keep Tampa Bay Beautiful activates volunteers on Trash Free Waters Day.
On Jan. 12, Keep Tampa Bay Beautiful hosted cleanup events as part of Trash Free Waters Day. The Hillsborough Trash Free Waters Initiative is a call to action to create more sustainable communities, counteract littering behaviors and prevent activities that pose water quality issues and habitat concerns in Florida. Volunteer-based projects significantly reduce or eliminate the volume of litter and debris entering the Hillsborough River Watershed.
This year’s projects were held at two sites – Picnic Island Park and Davis Island Seaplane Basin. More than 180 volunteers participated in the events, which resulted in the removal of 124 bags of trash and three bags of recyclables.
“Some large items we removed from our waterways were [a] plastic chair, large wood planks, metal poles and mattress,” said Deborah Durkin, Keep Tampa Bay Beautiful Environmental Program Coordinator. “We had volunteer divers able to pull metal signs, dolly and large boards.”
Through this initiative, KTBB has partnered with Zephyrhills® 100% Natural Spring Water and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
By: Kaitlyn Lauer