Eligibility and Important Dates ¶
Eligibility Requirements
- Students (grades 3 - 12) enrolled in a school or homeschooled within the City of Tampa limits under Tampa Solid Waste Service.
- Clients of the MacDonald Training Center Arts Program.
- Verify with schools list provided in the Rules & Regulations Packet link below:
- To verify if you live within the City of Tampa, check your address using the online service tool: City of Tampa Address Verify
- Click on the button below to read complete rules & regulations.
Dates
- Submission Deadline: 2026 submission date will be posted in Late November.
- Online Voting: Dates will be announced for the 2026 contest.
- Winners will be notified in March.
- Please review the Contest Rules & Regulations packet for more specifics and details.
For questions, please email Edgar.CastroTello@tampagov.net.
2025 Art Winners ¶

Sara - MacDonald Training Center

Princess- Roland Park K-8

Guillermo - Roland Park K-8

Cora - Howard W. Blake High School
2025 Poetry Winners ¶
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
by Henry - Roland Park K - 8
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
To save our Earth
We only have one,
So, see it for what it’s worth.
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Like the Earth depends on it,
(Because it kind of does)
I shouldn’t have to tell you,
You should just do it because.
I want no junk on this Earth I see,
We can still fix this broken prophecy.
Let’s keep Earth clean cause it’s all ours to share.
So, we have to take extra good care.
Humans' Last Chance
Gavin - Jesuit High School
Our beautiful earth conceived humans out of dust
Many years later, they leave the earth to rust
The blame lies on things quickly made and quickly consumed
Little do they know it will lead to human’s doom
Once sprawling cities now strangled by trash
Left to rot or burn to heaping piles of ash
Garbage and waste in rivers and streams
All because we wanted cheap jeans
The earth thinks she put up a good fight
While the humans lie down for one last night
If only they reduced what they thew away
They would be certain to live another day
Without humans Mother Earth will recover from the burns
And perhaps she’ll give humans another turn