Final Days to Recycle Gasparilla Beads at The Florida Aquarium

February 20, 2026

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The beads have been tossed, the parades have passed, and now there’s one more way to celebrate Gasparilla season with purpose. This is the final weekend to recycle your beads through Bead-Free Bay at The Florida Aquarium.

Through February 22, 2026, guests who bring in their unwanted Gasparilla beads can receive 50% off up to four general admission tickets. The initiative, in partnership with the City of Tampa, helps keep thousands of pounds of plastic out of Tampa Bay while creating meaningful job opportunities in the community.

**CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD BROADCAST-QUALITY VIDEO & PHOTOS**
Video includes the Aquarium’s bead bin, packaging and sorting beads, and an underwater dive cleanup
Courtesy: The Florida Aquarium

Keeping Plastic Out of the Bay
While festive, plastic beads pose a long-term threat to the environment. Marine animals can mistake beads for food, and the material can take hundreds to thousands of years to break down, eventually becoming microplastics that accumulate in the ecosystem and food chain. Recycling beads ensures they stay out of Tampa Bay and out of harm’s way for wildlife.

Giving Beads a Second Life
All collected beads are delivered to the MacDonald Training Center, where adults with disabilities and volunteers clean, sanitize, and repackage them for resale at future events. Proceeds directly support vocational training, employment pathways, residential services, and life-enrichment programs.

Community Action Continues
Following the Gasparilla festivities, divers from The Florida Aquarium and community volunteers will conduct a post-parade underwater cleanup in March to remove beads and other debris from local waterways. In previous years, these efforts have recovered more than 90 pounds of waste from the Bay, underscoring the importance of collective action.

For more information about The Florida Aquarium and Bead-Free Bay, click here.