Posted on Feb 17, 2025 | News,Press Releases
Keep Louisiana Beautiful Community Affiliates Help Reduce Mardi Gras Litter and Waste
BATON ROUGE, La. – The Keep Louisiana Beautiful (KLB) Community Affiliate network will support a cleaner, more sustainable Mardi Gras through litter prevention, pick up, and recycling initiatives across the state.
“Parades are at the heart of Louisiana’s culture, but the litter and waste generated is unsightly and harmful to our environment if left unaddressed,” said Lieutenant Governor Billy Nungesser. “I would like to thank the KLB Community Affiliate network for prioritizing a cleaner, more sustainable Mardi Gras. This Carnival season, while you are yelling ‘Throw me something, mister!’, don’t forget to do your part and throw your trash away in the proper place.”
Susan Russell, KLB Executive Director added, “Following parades, cups, food wrappers, toxic plastic beads, and disposable trinkets litter the streets and often end up in storm drains, polluting our waterways. Do your part to protect our environment by disposing of trash and recycling properly.”
Mardi Gras initiatives by KLB Community Affiliates include:
Keep Ouachita Green and Keep West Monroe Beautiful
Program: Mardi Gras Bead Recycling
When: Now – March 5
Information: Beads can be dropped off at bins at West Monroe City Hall, Alley Park in Downtown West Monroe, and West Monroe Recycling Center. Recycled beads will be given to Ouachita Parish 4-H. Contact: Sheila Kay Downhour, [email protected], 318-355-5622
Keep Monroe Beautiful and the City of Monroe
Program: Mardi Gras Bead Recycling
When: Now – March 5
Information: Bead recycling bins will be available at City of Monroe Community Centers & Monroe City Hall through March 5. No plush or other plastic items, please.
Contact: Kimberly Essex, [email protected], 318-998-4284
Keep Slidell Beautiful
Events: Slidell Mardi Gras Parades
When: Various parades from February 14-28
Information: During parades, Keep Slidell Beautiful (KSB) will throw aluminum cups, shirts, educational coloring books and colored pencils, wildflower seed packets, and more earth-friendly throws. KSB will also be placing straw wattles on all the drains along the parade route to prevent debris from entering the drainage system. Over 300 trash cans will be placed to prevent litter. Recycling will be available at the review stands. People with court-ordered community service will be given double credit for hours worked cleaning up parade litter. Restrictions apply.
Contact: Marissa Frischhertz, [email protected], 985-646-4371
Keep Carencro Beautiful and the City of Carencro
Event: Carencro Mardi Gras Parade
When: Saturday, February 15, 11 a.m.
Information: Keep Carencro Beautiful will supply garbage bags to the crowd, encouraging people to collect their garbage during the parade. At the end of the parade, a collection truck will be the last vehicle and will have signs on either side reading, “Throw Us Something! Your garbage!” Volunteers will toss bags into the truck, making parade cleanup easier for sanitation workers and insuring garbage ends up where it belongs.
Contact: Brett Ashy, [email protected], 337-896-8481
Keep Eunice Beautiful
Event: Pre-Mardi Gras Cleanup
When: Saturday, February 22, 8 a.m. – noon
Information: Keep Eunice Beautiful will have a cleanup ahead of Mardi Gras, picking up litter in intersections, downtown, major shopping area parking lots, and around the four welcome signs.
Contact: Donna Baltakis, [email protected]
Keep Abita Beautiful
Event: Krewe of Push Mow Parade
When: Sunday, February 23, 2 p.m.
Information: Keep Abita Beautiful will have floats at the end of the parade. Parade-goers can toss back unwanted beads and throws. Trash and recycling cans will be placed along the parade route to prevent littering. There will also be a bin for beads and throws at Abita Springs Town Hall, 22161 Level Street, until Friday, March 14.
Contact: Sandra Slifer, [email protected]
Keep Lake Charles Beautiful and the City of Lake Charles Team Green
Events: Various parades
When: February 28 to March 4
Information: Receptacles and extra bags will be available to businesses along the parade routes. The receptacles and bags will be picked up immediately following the parades. Collection sites will be available for unwanted beads.
Contact: Kimberly Albrecht, [email protected], 337-491-8729
Keep Lafayette Beautiful and Lafayette Consolidated Government
Program: Clean Up Krewe
When: Various parades through February 28; Bead recycling bins available through March 14 Information: The Clean Up Krewe has issued PSAs about littering and waste reduction and distributed over 1,000 waste bags to float riders. Additional bags will be distributed to krewes and parade-goers. In total, 15 bead recycling bins will be out March 7-14 around Lafayette. On March 8, select businesses will offer a free item for those who bring in beads to be recycled.
Contact: Bess Foret, [email protected], 337-291-5676
Shreveport Green
Event: Highland Parade
When: March 2
Information: “Shreveport Green Beans” will be riding last in the parade lineup alongside a trailer loaded with large containers. Participants will pick up fallen throws and litter with litter grabbers. Shreveport Green has also created and donated biodegradable seed throws to the Krewe of Highland royalty and will continue to support them as they move toward their zero-waste goal!
Contact: Katie Caldwell, Community Resilience Coordinator, [email protected]
Keep Lacombe Beautiful
Event: Krewe of Chahta parade
When: March 4, 1 p.m.
Information: Keep Lacombe Beautiful will have a “Throw Back Float” at the end of the parade. Items will be donated to STARC. The float is a collaboration between Keep Lacombe Beautiful, Friends of the Wildlife Refuge, and Southeast Louisiana National Wildlife Refuge in Lacombe.
Contact: Carolyn Darby, [email protected]
Keep the Quarter Clean and the French Quarter Management District
Program: Mardi Gras Bead Recycling
Information: Keep the Quarter Clean is partnering with Glass Half Full, the Downtown Development District, and Vieux Carre Property Owners, Residents, and Associates to place bead recycling receptacles at 10 French Quarter hotels. Last year, 3,346 lbs. of beads were collected and recycled.
Contact: Shelby Ursu, [email protected]
Keep Louisiana Beautiful encourages all Louisianans to help reduce Mardi Gras waste and prevent litter.
As a parade-goer, these are ways you can help:
– Pack a bag for your throws and a bag for your trash. Take your trash with you, sort out your recyclables, and dispose of everything properly in receptacles.
– Organize a post-Mardi Gras cleanup to keep litter from clogging our storm drains and entering our waterways.
– Donate your beads and throws. Prevent beads from entering our waterways and landfills. You can donate them to groups like ArcGNO Mardi Gras Recycle Center (MGRC). Grounds Krewe also has a list of sites accepting clean and unbroken beads, cups, toys, plush, doubloons, etc. Check with your parish government for local information.
As a krewe member or parade organizer, these are ways you can help:
Keep Louisiana Beautiful and French Quarter Festivals, Inc. created and published the Greener Grounds Guidebook and Workbook to provide practical ways you can plan to manage and reduce waste, increase recycling, and prevent litter at large outdoor events. The guidebook and workbook are free to use, and there is a section on reducing litter and waste at parades. Best practices highlighted in the guidebook include:
– Collect buy-in from krewe members on your commitment to reducing litter and waste.
– Focus on sourcing more sustainable, reusable, and easily recyclable throws like those sold by Grounds Krewe. – Assign responsibility to float captains to be litter prevention ambassadors.
– Adopt a krewe policy to prohibit tossing anything from the floats except throws along the parade route.
– KLB encourages outdoor event organizers in Louisiana to download the Greener Grounds guidebook and workbook for free. The KLB Greener Grounds grant program is also available to support events in going green.
Following Mardi Gras, Community Affiliates will participate in KLB’s statewide cleanup and beautification event, Love the Boot Week, happening April 5-13. Registration is open at LoveTheBoot.org.
