Mardi Gras in New Orleans is one of the world’s largest parties, drawing 1 million visitors each year. | f11photo/shutterstock
Public events always bring their own challenges to recycling – large numbers of people on the move, visitors from out of town, a constant flow of adult beverages and other distractions, the list goes on. And Mardi Gras in New Orleans, with its 12-day, 24-7 marathon of parades and parties drawing roughly 1 million people every year, may well be king.
“It’s a huge waste producer, probably the largest waste-producing event in the entire world,” said Brett Davis, founding director of the Grounds Krewe, a nonprofit whose work focuses almost entirely on improving recycling and sustainability at the event. Adding to the challenge, Mardi Gras isn’t contained to a single arena or festival grounds, either: “It happens right through the middle of a city and residential neighborhoods.”
Nonetheless, several tons of that material are being collected and recycled in the midst of the ongoing 2025 celebrations, thanks to a partnership involving Grounds Krewe, the city of New Orleans and its tourism agency, and a slew of other organizations and companies.
Named “RecycleDat!,” the initiative is marking its third year with the help of sponsors that include Coca-Cola and the Can Manufacturers Institute’s Every Can Counts program.
“New Orleans continues to lead by example in making our iconic traditions more sustainable, and Recycle Dat! is proof of that progress,” Greg Nichols, director of the city’s Office of Resilience and Sustainability, said in a written statement. “By expanding this initiative year over year, we are reducing waste, supporting local nonprofits, and demonstrating that a greener Mardi Gras is possible.”
The initiative faces the recycling challenge on multiple fronts, with multiple staffed recycling hubs accepting aluminum cans, plastic beads and other parade “throws,” and glass and plastic bottles.
Bars are competing to recycle the most glass for Glass Half Full, which uses crushed glass as a sand substitute for beach restorations. A local artist is creating a mosaic with used cans. And Grounds Krewe, which acts as the coordinator of the whole effort, is also creating its own locally sourced and eco-friendly throw alternatives, such as jambalaya and coffee mixes, soaps and bamboo toothbrushes.
Last year’s coalition collected 2 tons of aluminum cans, 4 tons of glass and more than 6 tons of beads and throws, almost double 2023’s figures, according to a CMI press release.
“The community response has been extremely positive because the waste here, it’s sort of a black eye on this event,” Davis said. One year, more than 40 tons of plastic beads were found clogging just five blocks of storm drains. “You’re ankle-deep in it.”
The initiative is only catching a fraction of that waste, he added: “It’s hard to know how much we’re actually biting off.” But the work has come a long way since he started Grounds Krewe with his girlfriend, his parents and some trailers eight or so years ago. After last year’s Mardi Gras, one major parade krewe said they were done throwing beads.
“So there is change happening,” Davis said, “and it is, of course, incremental, but we feel good about where it’s going.”
A version of this story appeared in Resource Recycling on Jan. 25.