TAMPA, Fla. — The next time you see a City of Tampa Solid Waste truck rolling through your neighborhood, you might want to stop and take a closer look because there could be some really awesome artwork on the side of it.
It's all part of the city’s 3R’s Art and Poetry Contest.
One by one friends and family cheered on six talented students as the City of Tampa Solid Waste Department honored winners from its 19th annual 3R's Art and Poetry Contest. The theme remains the same every year: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.
“I know it makes people think; it makes them stop for a little bit, look at the artwork or read the poems, and be able to reflect on their own choices,” said Recycling Specialist Edgar Castro Tello.
The three winning poems will now be on display at Julian B. Lane Park for the next year for every visitor to see and read.
“I feel very proud of it. I think it will convince lots of people to recycle, reduce, reuse,” said fifth-grader Eli Denson, who had one of the winning poems.
The three winning pictures will be plastered on solid waste trucks for the next year as they make their rounds throughout the city on a daily basis.
“It sounds insane, just my picture going throughout the town and people seeing it, and it will inspire people to recycle more,” said fellow winner, fifth-grader Nathan Simkin.
Simkin treated his picture like a battle between good and evil.
“I like playing games like Dungeons and Dragons, so I was thinking about that when I was creating the artwork, so I thought, 'What if Earth were to battle pollution?'” said Simkin.
Senior Ivory Humara was inspired by her love of animals and how we need to help protect them.
“I know how much that the six-pack things affect them, and I know people are like, ‘save the turtles,’ but I think some people don’t actually care about the animals, and I want them to,” said Humara.
The city said the competition gets bigger every year. More than 150 students submitted work, and more than a thousand people voted online.
“I’m always impressed, I’m always inspired and it always sparks something in me every year,” said Tello. “We are excited that ABC Action News is here to see this, especially during Earth Week, Earth Month.”
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