Mardi Gras can make a lot of trash, adding up to millions of pounds each year. Now, some parades in New Orleans are cutting down on their environmental footprint by banning plastic beads.

There are ways to recycle the cheap, plastic beads that have become synonymous with Mardi Gras, but many end up in landfills. They also clog up the city’s 100-year-old drainage system.

Plastic beads create huge amounts of waste after Mardi Gras, but Beasley created treasure ... This allowed her art to grow beyond Louisiana borders, just like the souvenirs that tourists fight ...

City workers in Mobile, Ala. shovel pounds of Mardi Gras beads into the back of a truck. This story was originally published by Inside Climate News. MOBILE, Ala. — The trees tell the tale.

Welcome to Mardi Gras season – next Tuesday ... This post [originally from 2008 and since retooled] is about beads. The next morning, I was the guest of the Krewe of Babalu and got to ride ...

By Sara Bonisteel They throw lots of things at the Carnival parades in New Orleans: plastic beads and stuffed animals ... the founder of the Mardi Gras Guide, now in its 49th annual edition.