Heading To Mardi Gras? This Is One Meaningful Way To Give Back While You're There

Mardi Gras festivities bring masses of people to New Orleans every year. In the midst of the flashy costumes, colorful beads, and festive throws, there's one aspect of these celebrations that often goes unnoticed by partygoers. When the party dies down, the streets are left covered in squashed cans, styrofoam cups, and plastic beads clogging the city drains. In fact, during the 12-day Mardi Gras celebration in 2023, over 2.5 million pounds of trash were left in the streets of New Orleans. This staggering number is what inspired founder Brett Davis to put together Grounds Krewe, a nonprofit dedicated to shrinking that shocking number of Mardi Gras waste in America's "unofficial capital of after-dark adventure."

Through their various initiatives, Grounds Krewe works with local organizations to find solutions to the Mardi Gras waste problem. One initiative, Recycle Dat!, puts volunteers on the ground to collect cans, bottles, and the infamous beads from parade attendees. Volunteers may be standing on corners asking attendees for cans, or even participating in the parade themselves to collect recyclable waste along the way. The Re-Cyclists Marching Krewe finds ways to interactively collect trash in a way that is fun for Mardi Gras attendees, with themed costumes and glowing recycling baskets. The best thing about the Grounds Krewe is that you can easily get involved with their initiatives.

If you are stopping into the Big Easy for Mardi Gras, consider taking a day or two to give back to the community hosting this legendary event. By surfing the Grounds Krewe website, you will find tons of ways to get involved before, during, and after the event. Volunteers can help with the Recycle Dat! initiative through hands-on trash collection. Wander Bourbon Street with a recycling bag or take to New Orleans most famed area, the Garden District, by bicycle to collect stray bottles and cans. Over the past three years, Grounds Krewe has successfully recycled over 110,000 pounds of parade waste, all of which would have ended up in the sewer systems or landfill if not for this organization.

If you'd prefer something a bit more behind the scenes, you can join the team by putting together sustainable items to replace the often plastic and non-biodegradable options that are usually thrown from floats. Sustainable throws include wooden necklaces, jambalaya mix, and flower seed kits. Instead of leaving throws on the street, paradegoers will be able to turn their throws into something new and good for the environment.

An easy way to show your support is by signing the petition and pledge to say why you think sustainable action is important to Mardi Gras. If you aren't able to support the event hands-on, you can also show your support by donating to the Grounds Krewe.