- During the third annual Great Port Clean-Up, a record number of volunteers collected nearly 80,000 pounds of trash, which is more than double last year's total! This year, 851 volunteers collected 79,698 pounds of trash, preventing it from entering the waters of Tampa Bay. The event took place the Friday before Earth Day, April 21, 2023. The annual clean-up is hosted by Port Tampa Bay, the Propeller Club of Tampa Bay and Keep Tampa Bay Beautiful.

Port partners and other dedicated community volunteers safely removed trash and marine debris from 23 sites in and around our port. In addition, 30,000 pounds of invasive plant species were removed.  While the majority of this debris originated from outside of the port, the Port Tampa Bay maritime community is dedicated to doing their part to eliminate marine debris and support trash-free waters in Tampa Bay.

In 2021, the first-ever Great Port Clean-up won the American Association of Port Authorities’ Lighthouse Award of Excellence for Environmental Enhancement and served as a model for seaports throughout the Western Hemisphere.  Additionally in 2022, Port Tampa Bay was honored with the top environmental honor from Keep Tampa Bay Beautiful for making a significant impact to their mission and received the Outstanding Partnership Award from Keep Florida Beautiful.