Did you know that the average amount of waste created during carnival season is 900,000 TONS? Last year, in partnership with Arc of Greater New Orleans, volunteers from YLC Recycles (a project of the Young Leadership Council) launched a pilot program called the Mardi Gras Recycling Initiative.

During 1 day of parades, 10,000 aluminum cans, 2,000 plastic bottles, and more than 2,500 lbs of beads were collected along the route for recycling and reuse.