Yesterday was Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday, traditionally a day of
excess prior to the beginning of Lent. The festivities in New
Orleans have generated tons of garbage, most of which has ended
up in landfills. However, efforts to reduce the waste and usher
in a greener Mardi Gras are being made by groups such as Verdi
Gras, (http://verdigras.org), whose mission is to create and
support a "cleaner, greener" Mardi Gras, and Arc of Greater New
Orleans (http://arcgno.org), a center making efforts to recycle
Mardi Gras beads. Reena Kazman, author of Eco-Artware Notes Blog
writes in an article titled "Where Mardi Gras Beads Go For
Lent": Handwrapped Wire Upcycled Necklace Image © funkybutchic
"An estimated 22 million pounds of cheap plastic beads, most of
them imported from China, are tossed to crowds lined up for the
pre-Lenten parades. Only about 2 percent of those are recycled,
but Arc Enterprises in New Orleans is working to increase that
ratio. It places recycling bins along the parade routes and its
“Catch and