The beads are flying now that parades are underway all around the New Orleans area. Audubon Nature Institute has a way for you to recycle those colorful trinkets and keep them out of landfills and storm drains.
Mardi Gras bead collection boxes are set up at both Audubon Zoo and at Audubon Louisiana Nature Center for the public to drop off beads. The beads will be recycled by Arc of Greater New Orleans and used in future parades to continue the fun of carnival another year.
Last year, revelers recycled more than two tons of beads at Audubon, and we hope to recycle even more this year. Even with that amount recycled at Audubon, it is barely a dent in the number of beads thrown each year during the parades. It’s estimated that about 25 million pounds of beads are thrown during the city’s parades each year, but only a small portion of those are recycled. Audubon is committed to changing that statistic by making it easy to recycle and keep beads out of landfills and away from nature.
No admission is needed to drop off your unwanted beads, there are boxes located outside Audubon Zoo and Audubon Louisiana Nature Center.
