East Hillsborough News

Sign up, earn points, score eco-friendly gifts

Residents and businesses on both sides of Tampa Bay can help bring home another ChampaBay win by joining the Reduce Your Use Tampa Bay team during the Plastic Free Ecochallenge from July 1-31, 2022. The Plastic Free Ecochallenge is an international month-long effort to encourage a shift away from single-use plastic dependency and create a more sustainable society.

The Reduce Your Use Tampa Bay Ecochallenge team was formed by the existing partnership between regional municipal and nonprofit partners, Hillsborough County, Pinellas County, City of Tampa, City of St. Petersburg, Keep Tampa Bay Beautiful, and Keep Pinellas Beautiful, who are already partnered on the waste-reduction education campaign with the same name, ReduceYourUseTampaBay.org.  

How Ecochallenge Works:

1. Join the Reduce Your Use Tampa Bay team. Visit the Ecochallenge page to sign up.
2. Complete waste-reduction actions to earn individual and team points. Whether you can commit to a one-time action or something new every day, there are dozens of suggested actions to choose from or create your own custom action.
3. Inspire others by inviting them to join and see how hundreds of thousands of everyday actions can add up to significant change.

The three Reduce Your Use Tampa Bay team members from Hillsborough or Pinellas counties with the most points by July 31, 2022, will receive eco-friendly items provided by the campaign.

During the Ecochallenge, participants are encouraged to create habits that benefit themselves, their community, and the planet. Some of the suggested actions to earn points include:

• Become a recycling pro - research which materials are accepted curbside and at drop-off locations and recycle those items. Visit HCFLGov.net/Recycling for recycling information in Hillsborough County.
• Skip plastic bags - when possible, do not use disposable bags when shopping, including produce bags. Reminder - plastic bags are not recyclable curbside in Hillsborough County.
• Fill a water bottle - use a reusable bottle, saving disposable plastic bottles.
• Cook a plastic-free meal - prepare meals at home each day without using any items packaged in single-use plastic.

_{Source:  https://www.hillsboroughcounty.org/en/newsroom/2022/07/01/join-the-reduce-your-use-tampa-bay-team-for-the-plastic-free-ecochallenge-2022}