If you've ever been to a Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans, then you're probably familiar with the sea of unwanted beads, flashing toys and plastic packaging left in the wake of the last float to ...

Several groups in the New Orleans area offer bead recycling in an effort to cut down on Mardi Gras waste. Mardi Gras produces tons of garbage — up to 2.6 million pounds each year in New ...

AND GUYS NEVER, NEVER A DULL DAY HERE ON BOURBO New Orleans' bead trees are in full bloom, in all their tacky glory. They're a native species to southeast Louisiana during Mardi Gras, with blooms ...

Bead tosses are more than a Mardi Gras tradition; they are a financial necessity. New Orleans law bans sponsorships, so krewes must cover parade expenses themselves. To raise funds, they charge ...

"The waste is becoming a defining characteristic of this event," said Brett Davis, a New Orleans native who grew up catching beads at Mardi Gras parades. He now heads a nonprofit that works to ...

“The waste is becoming a defining characteristic of this event,” said Brett Davis, a New Orleans native who grew up catching beads at Mardi Gras parades. He now heads a nonprofit that works to ...

Everything from eye masks to those colorful beads to the krewes of New Orleans putting on parades all holds this cultural significance. The history behind Mardi Gras is fascinating but doesn't ...

Every year, cities across the United States pause in March to celebrate an annual festival known as Mardi Gras. The celebrations are most concentrated in areas such as New Orleans, Mobile ...

In New Orleans for the Mardi Gras, I, surely, wasn’t ready for the mad ride and ceaseless exhilaration. Think 250 million ...

In 2018, the City of New Orleans found 93,000 pounds of Mardi Gras beads in just five city blocks that had washed down into storm drains.” “Most of these beads also contained levels of ...

The beads. So many beads ... Despite what you might have heard, Mardi Gras didn't get its start in New Orleans. Get top local stories delivered to you every morning with NBC DFW's News Headlines ...

The beads. So many beads ... Despite what you might have heard, Mardi Gras didn't get its start in New Orleans. Mardi Gras actually began in Mobile, Alabama – a port city with close proximity ...