As the Mardi Gras season ended and tourists returned home, New Orleans was again tasked with combating the waste the beloved tradition brings.
This Carnival season, the city of New Orleans contracted waste management company IV Waste to clean the streets along the parade route. As the partying died off each day, waste management crews began cleaning up by 5 a.m. Sidney Torres, IV Waste’s president, told the AP that by 10 a.m., the city would be cleaned and ready for another day.
First, waste management teams sprayed the streets down and power washed the trash out of people’s way. Next, the roads were scrubbed, and the waste was bulldozed and removed. Finally, Torres said the streets were covered in a citrus-scented spray to reduce the smell.
Leander Nunez, a supervisor for IV Waste, told the AP the amount of waste produced was less than in previous years. He attributed this to the attack on Bourbon on New Year’s Day which sparked safety concerns amongst both tourists and locals, as well as the storms that prevented parades on Mardi Gras Day.
Still, an estimated 2.5 million pounds of waste are produced from the festivities every year. Over a million visitors, more than three times the city’s population, leave behind anything from plastic beads to beverage containers to even recyclables.
“Every year, Mardi Gras leaves behind more than just memories – it strains Louisiana’s aging infrastructure, clogs storm drains with thousands of pounds of plastic waste and exacerbates wear and tear on streets already battered by time and weather,” said Reid Bruce, a program manager at H2Bravo, a disaster response and recovery organization.
The celebration’s most significant environmental problem continues to be the plastic beads that litter the streets. Many of the beads find their way into storm drains, which can clog drains and result in flooding.
In 2018, the mayor of New Orleans ordered the drains be cleaned due to excessive flooding. City workers soon found 93,000 pounds of plastic beads sitting in the city’s storm drains.
However, the problems extend far beyond clogged drains, as the beads pollute waterways and increase exposure to dangerous chemicals. A 2020 report from the Ecology Center found that Mardi Gras beads are made from toxic plastics that have high levels of lead, chlorine and arsenic. The report also provides evidence that these beads are composed of recycled electronic waste that contains flame-retardant chemicals.
Yet, according to the New Orleans Mayor’s Office, Mardi Gras generates $891 million for the city, amounting to over 3% of the city’s annual revenue. And the party doesn’t seem to be slowing down, as hotel and restaurant owners claim this year’s celebration was even bigger than last year.
“Mardi Gras is an incredible economic driver for Louisiana, but we should be ensuring that tax dollars and investment are mitigating the impact that large crowds have on the state so that we can ensure that Mardi Gras continues to attract millions of guests,” Bruce said.
Some strides have been made to reduce the waste Mardi Gras produces. This was the first year the Krewe of Freret stopped using plastic beads entirely. The Krewe used glass beads to prevent throwing what they said could have been 250,000 strands of plastic beads.
Researchers at LSU have also developed biodegradable Mardi Gras beads that contain flower seeds. Lauren Rodgers, a biology senior on the research team, hopes to have their beads thrown in next year’s parades.
The city’s Office of Resilience & Sustainability has partnered with New Orleans & Company and Grounds Krewe to continue the Recycle Dat! initiative for the third year in a row. The initiative encourages the recycling of aluminum cans, beads and more on parade routes.
Anna Nguyen, the external affairs manager at the Office of Resilience & Sustainability, said the city obtained $50,000 to enhance recycling efforts during this past festival season, and that by next year, the budget would significantly increase as the city plans to keep the good times rolling.
