TAMPA, Fla. — The city of Tampa's Solid Waste Department is bringing back its "Spring It Forward" initiative which is "designed to help reduce extra waste and its environmental impact during the spring-cleaning season."
After the initiative's first launch last year, the city's McKay Bay Waste Facility saw a decrease of almost 300,000 pounds of waste compared to previous years.
Tampa residents are encouraged to not just throw away unwanted items when cleaning their homes but instead repurpose and donate them at the beginning of the spring season.
People can search items by using the Tampa Trash and Recycling App or the recycling website to see if a material can be reused or donated to consignment or local thrift shops.
City leaders say taking items to a local thrift or consignment store can help extend the life span of resources used to create them.
"Springing your unwanted, good and working-condition items forward can help those in need," Larry Washington, the city of Tampa's Solid Waste Director, said in a statement. "Springing It Forward also helps local charities and non-profit agencies collect gently used items.
"We're excited to help connect families with these resources."
Anyone interested in participating in the initiative this year can download the Tampa Trash and Recycling mobile app. It can also be found on the city's website tampa.gov/Recycle.