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.

Get your beads and King Cakes out ... take place in coastal towns near the Louisiana border. For instance, Beaumont’s annual Mardi Gras Southeast Texas festival, which ran from Feb. 28 to ...

LAFAYETTE, La. — As Mardi Gras festivities wind down, the colorful beads that often come with the celebrations can pile up, leaving many wondering what to do with the excess. The Arc of Acadiana ...

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.

GALVESTON, Texas — Parades and beads and vendors – oh my! Mardi Gras Galveston has taken over the island, with thousands of attendees from near and far soaking up more than a century worth of ...