What To Do With Surplus Mardi Gras Beads

Catch and Release, Louisiana Style.

After mister throws you something, where do Mardi Gras beads go? Sure you keep some for souvenirs, but every year 25 million pounds of used Mardi Gras beads are thrown away. Save the commemorative medallions and blinky lights and let us help you figure out what to do with all of the rest. Here is a list of recycling bins in New Orleans.

During Carnival Season

• Algiers Regional Library – 3014 Holiday Drive
• Aloft New Orleans Downtown – 225 Baronne Street
• Alvar Library – 913 Alvar Street
• Audubon Aquarium – 1 Canal Street
• Audubon Nature Center – 11000 Lake Forest Boulevard
• Audubon Insectarium – 423 Canal Street
• Audubon Zoo – 6500 Magazine Street
• Avenue Plaza – 2111 St. Charles Avenue
• Avenue Pub – 1732 St. Charles Avenue
• Best Western Plus St. Charles Inn – 3636 St. Charles Avenue
• Children’s Resource Center – 913 Napoleon Avenue
• Cita Dennis Hubbell Branch Library – 725 Pelican Avenue
• City Hall – 1300 Perdido Street
• Dirty Coast – 5631 Magazine Street
• Drury Inn & Suites New Orleans – 820 Poydras Street
• East New Orleans Regional Library – 5641 Read Boulevard
• Gallier Hall – 545 St. Charles Avenue
• Gulf Coast Bank & Trust Company –  201 N. Carrollton Avenue
• Gulf Coast Bank & Trust Company – 848 Harrison Avenue
• HI New Orleans Hostel – 1028 Canal Street
• Hilton New Orleans Riverside – 2 Poydras Street
• Jefferson Financial Express Federal Credit Union – 1201 Jefferson Highway Suite D
• Latter Branch Public Library – 5120 St. Charles Avenue
• Maison De Cheveux – 201 St. Charles Avenue #127
• New Orleans & Company – 2020 St. Charles Avenue
• Nest Nola – 5422 Magazine Street
• NOPSI Hotel – 317 Baronne Street
• Omni Riverfront Hotel – 701 Convention Center Boulevard
• Reginelli’s Pizzeria – 5961 Magazine Street
• Rock ‘N’ Bowl – 3016 S. Carrollton Avenue
• Robert E. Smith Library – 6301 Canal Boulevard
• Renaissance New Orleans Arts Warehouse District Hotel – 700 Tchoupitoulas Street
• Rosa F. Keller Library & Community Center – 4300 S. Broad Avenue
• Rouses Market – 701 Baronne Street
• Sheraton Hotel – 500 Canal Street
• Tulane University – 1515 Poydras Street #964
• Urban South Brewery – 1645 Tchoupitoulas Street
• Windsor Court Hotel – 300 Gravier Street

Year-Round

• ArcGNO Uptown Community Center – 1771 Nashville Avenue
• The Green Project – 7243, 2831 Marais Street
• New Orleans Sanitation Department – 2829 Elysian Fields Avenue (second and fourth Saturday of each month 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.)
• Whole Foods – 5600 Magazine Street

Upcycle Beads with Crafts, Jewelry & Home Decor

If you’re one of those people who love Pinterest and doing crafts, you may want to try your hand at re-using the beads in your next project. We've seen beads transformed into everything from framed wall art to lampshades. Who knows? It may even turn into a side hustle for you. 

Donate The Extra Beads

Speaking of arts and crafts, many schools collect the beads for art class projects or to donate to groups like the Arc. Check with your neighborhood school to see if they could use your surplus beads.