While people all around the world were disappointed to hear that New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell is considering cancelling Mardi Gras for 2021, it could be a step toward sustainability that the city desperately needs. Each year, about 12.5 thousand tons of beads are thrown into screaming crowds during Mardi Gras. Some of these beads go home with bystanders, however, this exciting and iconic New Orleans event leaves behind 25 million pounds of Mardi Gras beads in its wake each year. This massive amount of plastic waste does not even include the plastic waste from tourist’s daiquiri cups, bottles, and other trinkets that litter the streets after the parades have passed and the tourists have left.  

Mardi Gras beads are made of a petroleum-based plastic, which can have detrimental effects on the city’s infrastructure and the environment. Countless tons of beads each year end up in the bodies of water surrounding the city. The individual pellets of broken beads can appear to fish and birds as food. When consumed, this plastic can release toxins into fish, either killing the fish or entering the bodies of people who eat the fish. The plastic waste that does not make it into the Mississippi River piles up in landfills and the city’s sewer system.  

The first beads used as throws were made of glass and were a rare treasure to those who caught them. In the 1960s, the use of plastic beads boomed. As the price of bead production rapidly decreased, the magnitude of Mardi Gras throws wildly increased. Mardi Gras became less about quality or rarity of beads and more about the pure quantity of throws one could catch. As this desire for excess continues to take a toll on the city and the environment, New Orleans must develop a more sustainable approach to Mardi Gras. If Mardi Gras is suspended, it may allow the krewes ample time to develop alternatives to plastic beads. Companies such as Atlas Beads and university searchers have developed biodegradable paper beads. These beads are made from algae and biodegrade within two years. The environmentally friendly beads cost about 13 times more than regular beads. However, if Mardi Gras shifts from its indulgent habits back to its original approach of throwing beads more sparingly, these beads would be a sustainable alternative.

If these new measures are put in place, the environmental impact on New Orleans could be astronomical, creating a much more eco-friendly city.