Recycle Dat! New Orleans

Recycle Dat! continued to scale in 2026, expanding both geographically and operationally. New additions like the Westbank Can & Bottle Sweep following the Krewe of NOMTOC parade and increased route coverage Uptown allowed crews to recover more materials than ever before.

1. Can & Bottle Sweep Extension: Post-parade sweeps expanded significantly in 2026, covering 40 blocks Uptown following the Krewe of King Arthur, and 20 blocks on the Westbank following the Krewe of NOMTOC. This effort alone diverted 815 lbs of aluminum, 330 lbs of plastic, and 75 lbs of glass!

2. On- Route Recycling Hubs: Eight recycling hubs returned along St. Charles Avenue and Napoleon Avenue during peak parade weekends, giving parade-goers an easy way to recycle cans, bottles, and unwanted throws. This effort diverted 4,868 lbs of aluminum, 1,351 lbs of plastic, 3,840 lbs of glass, and 5,944 lbs of beads and throws.

3. Raise the Bar Program: Through various partnerships with local bars and businesses found here, this initiative continued to promote recycling beyond just the parade route, collecting 326 lbs of aluminum and 28,569 lbs of glass. 

4. Hotel Pick- Up Program: With the help of The French Quarter Management District and Glass Half Full, hotels in the French Quarter collected 10,077 lbs+ of unwanted beads and throws from visitors. The list of hotels that participated can be found here.

5. Convention Center Waste Diversion Efforts: In partnership with the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, post-ball recycling efforts at the Convention Center helped capture additional materials generated during large-scale Carnival events, diverting 2,100 pounds of glass and 2,625 pounds of beads and throws.

6. Early Season Parade Engagement: Recycle Dat! programming kicked off early in the Carnival season through partnerships with Krewe of Bohème and Krewe du Vieux. These efforts included on-the-ground collection through marching recyclists and post-parade recovery, helping to capture materials and build early momentum. This effort diverted 133 lbs of aluminum, 10 lbs of plastic, and 157 lbs of glass.

7. Recycling Rewards Program: The Recycling Rewards program incentivized participation by offering prizes such as festival tickets, hotel stays, restaurant gift cards, and local experiences to parade-goers who recycled eligible materials. This initiative engaged over 300 participants, resulting in the collection of approximately 10,000 bottles and cans and 450 bags of unwanted throws.

8. Recycle World: Supported by Coca-Cola, Recycle World returned as an interactive, on-route hub for real-time sorting, recycling education, and community engagement. Located along the parade route, the space provided hands-on opportunities for residents and visitors to learn about recycling while actively contributing to material diversion efforts, helping increase visibility and participation.

While increasing recycling efforts is the focus of Recycle Dat!, there is increasing awareness and adoption of the use of sustainable throws.

Grounds Krewe continues to be at the forefront of Mardi Gras sustainability innovation by designing, assembling, and selling affordable, eco-friendly parade throws meant to displace imported, disposable, plastic offerings often left in the streets. Most of the throws are Louisiana products and engage local disadvantaged labor forces, and thousands of volunteers, to help produce them. Since its inception in 2020, over 780,000 throws have been sold through the Sustainable Throw Catalog. There has been over 1,000 hours of paid labor to disadvantaged community members to assemble the throws with over 12,000 volunteers assisting.

For 2026, Grounds Krewe supplied sustainable throw packages to five parading Krewes in New Orleans including Krewe of Iris, Rex Organization,  Krewe of Alla, Krewe of Themis, Krewe of Tucks, and Krewe of the Rolling Elvi, as well as Krewes in Baton Rouge (Krewe of Artemis) and Shreveport (Krewe of Centaur).