Tampa Bay Area Low-Waste Event Guide

About

What is a low-waste event?

A low-waste event aims to reduce environmental impact by minimizing waste sent to landfills by using sustainable materials, diversion methods and outreach.

Low-waste is different from zero waste. Zero waste means absolutely no garbage sent to landfill. Not all events can be zero waste. But every event organizer can do their best to reduce waste sent to a landfill – that is low-waste.

Who can use this guide?

This guide is intended to help event organizers and vendors in the Tampa Bay area reduce the amount of waste generated at large-scale events in their communities. Example events include concerts, music festivals, parades and street fairs.

Why should you care?

The Tampa Bay area has a garbage problem. Several communities utilize waste-to-energy facilities to burn garbage and produce electricity, and the remaining ash takes up much less space in landfills. However, regional waste-to-energy facilities are not a magic wand. Because of factors like population growth, the region is producing more garbage than waste-to-energy facilities can process. Landfills are filling up, and because the area is so densely occupied, there isn’t much room to build new landfills.

Once landfills fill up, governments will need to manage garbage in other ways. This could include trucking garbage elsewhere, which would be three to five times more expensive for future generations.

Landfills produce greenhouse gases, including methane and carbon dioxide, that contribute to climate change. Once a landfill is closed, it takes up space forever, is expensive to maintain and is difficult to transform into usable land.

Recycling helps keep waste out of landfills. It also conserves natural resources like trees, water and minerals that are used to make new products.

It’s important to create less waste to protect the places we live, work and play in the Tampa Bay area for future generations.

Tampa Bay by the Numbers

Icon of stick figure people in a crowd

Population: 3 million

Icon of a trash can with lid

Seven million tons of waste per year

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Four Waste-to-Energy Facilities

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Limited landfill life

The above data includes Pinellas, Hillsborough and Manatee counties.

Sources: University of Florida Bureau of Economic and Business Research, Florida Estimates of Population 2024 and Florida Department of Environmental Protection 2023 Solid Waste Management Report

What is the best way to manage waste?

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Waste Management Hierarchy suggests managing waste from the most preferred to least preferred options: reduction of waste generated; reuse of resources; recycling and using the same raw ingredients to make new products; creating electricity and reducing the volume of garbage via waste-to-energy; and landfilling as a last resort.

A low-waste event should aim to create the least amount of garbage possible by following the waste management hierarchy. Creating less waste is the best approach to conserving landfill space.

Waste Management Hierarchy

Planning Checklist

Tips

Track Your Progress

Resources

Collaborating Partners

Pinellas Partners in Recycling logo

This guide was created by Pinellas Partners in Recycling, an advisory and networking group focused on recycling, waste reduction and managing garbage as a resource. Its members are from the public sector, private sector and non-governmental organizations across the region.

The success of this guide is thanks to the contributions of Pinellas Partners in Recycling members from the following organizations:

Logos for the City of Clearwater, CocaCola Beverages Florida, City of Dunedin, Eckerd College, Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Gasparilla Music Festival, Hillsborough County, City of Largo, Manatee County, City of Oldsmar, Pinellas County Solid Waste, City of St. Petersburg, City of Tampa, City of Treasure Island, Waste Pro
City of Clearwater, CocaCola Beverages Florida, City of Dunedin, Eckerd College, Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Gasparilla Music Festival, Hillsborough County, City of Largo, Manatee County, City of Oldsmar, Pinellas County Solid Waste, City of St. Petersburg, City of Tampa, City of Treasure Island, Waste Pro