New Orleans Mardi Gras is known for its extravagant, decadent bacchanalia. But if you are traveling to New Orleans for the party, the celebration doesn’t have to be all about the booze. The influx of tourists has made it possible to enjoy the festivities in New Orleans. Recycle Dat! The parade program is a great way for people to help the city while staying close to 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. Cans collected are recycled locally and exchanged for scrap aluminum at the market rate. The proceeds of the recycling are donated to local charities.
While it’s the brainchild of three organizations—Grounds Krewe, Every Can CountsThe. New Orleans Office of Resilience & Sustainability—Recycle Dat!The origins of’s work are entirely personal.[I] Grounds Krewe’s director, Brett Davis, said that he was “trying to solve an environment problem in my home town which has rapidly developed over the last twenty years”. Travel + Leisure. “I can’t believe that the 12 days of Carnival are the biggest litter-producing event in the world. As much as 2.6 millions pounds of tailgate trash, including cans and parade throws [are] “Crowds left on the streets after 10 days of parades from one end to the other of the city.”
Since its inception in 2023 the goal of this program has been to provide a simple and effective way to recycling. But Recycle Dat. This is also one of the best ways to help the city while still having fun. The project has collected and recycled more than 300,000 cans, which would have otherwise ended up in landfills.
Scott Breen of the Can Manufacturers Institute (which created Every Can Counts) told T+L that recycling aluminum beverage cans will most likely result in new cans. Ninety-seven per cent of aluminum beverage cans recycled in America are turned into new cans. On average, cans from aluminum beverage cans can be transformed to a brand new can in less than sixty days. Recycle Dat has another bonus: it’s raised thousands of dollars for local charities.Recycle Dat!’s efforts raised thousands of dollars to support local charities.
Recycle dat! Also, glass bottles, beads and throws are collected, preventing even more waste to end up in landfills. Volunteers can win prizes, including a stay in a buzzy hotel. The Chloe Get tickets for the famous city attractions Jazz Fest.
Recycling stations will be placed along the parade route on St. Charles Avenue and Napoleon Avenue this year. Recycling World epicenter allows visitors to watch the sorting of waste and see public art made out of recyclables. One city’s trash could also be that city’s treasure, as the old saying goes.
New Orleans: What to do? Recycle Dat offers you the opportunity to sign up as a volunteer! You can sign up to volunteer with Recycle Dat! groundskrewe.org.
