This New Orleans Mardi Gras Program Turns Parade Litter Into Community Support-Here's How to Volunteer

"New Orleans' Mardi Gras might be known for its decadent, indulgent bacchanalia, but if you're traveling to the Big Easy for the party, it doesn't just have to be about the booze and the beads. Thanks to the Recycle Dat! volunteer program, parade goers can give back to the city without straying too far from Bourbon Street."

"The initiative organizes volunteers, both locals and visitors, on the two Saturdays and Sundays before Fat Tuesday to gather the thousands of cans-as much as 10,000 pounds worth-discarded along the parade routes. The collected cans are recycled locally, where they're traded in at market rate for the scrap aluminum. The proceeds are then donated directly to local charities."

"The 12 days of carnival are, as far as I can tell, the largest litter producing event in the entire world. As much as 2.6 million pounds of tailgate waste, including cans, and parade throws [are] left by crowds on the streets during 10 long days of parading from one end of the city to the other."

Recycle Dat! mobilizes volunteers on the two Saturdays and Sundays before Fat Tuesday to collect thousands of discarded aluminum cans along Mardi Gras parade routes. Collected cans are recycled locally and traded in at market rate for scrap aluminum, with proceeds donated directly to local charities. The initiative is led by Grounds Krewe, Every Can Counts, and the New Orleans Office of Resilience & Sustainability and began to address a rapid increase in carnival litter. The program has collected and recycled over 300,000 cans since 2023 and keeps aluminum in the production cycle by enabling its reuse.

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