Mardi Gras season is underway in Mobile, and while carnival season brings thousands of revelers downtown to enjoy parades, balls, and other festivities— it also brings thousands of pounds of trash.
Most of the trash ends up on the streets and sidewalks, and according to a press release from the City of Mobile, far too much of it enters the storm drains and eventually the waterways.
A few years ago, several organizations, including Alabama Coastal Foundation, Mobile Bay National Estuary Program, Downtown Mobile Alliance, Keep Mobile Beautiful and the City of Mobile, came together to create the Cleaner, Greener LoDa initiative to combat litter and reduce the use of plastic in the city center.
One ongoing focus has been reducing litter generated during Mardi Gras parades.
Cleaning crews with the City of Mobile have long followed behind the parades to clear the streets and sidewalks of trash and, in recent years, new recycling efforts have been added as well.
Last year, more than 11,000 pounds of recyclables were collected along the routes, including 1,574 pounds of beads alone.
As always, City of Mobile crews will be out in full force this Carnival Season, but Mobilians, visitors and local businesses can still help by taking some of the following steps:
- Dispose of garbage in the designated purple garbage carts throughout downtown
- Deposit aluminum, paper, plastic, and beads in the recycling bins in Bienville Square and Cathedral Square
- Place a trash can or recycle bin in front of your downtown business
- “Say No to the Glow.” This is a new effort to eliminate the plastic glow sticks regularly thrown from Carnival floats. These plastic sticks can clog the street sweepers and create environmental issues
Mardi Gras has been celebrated in Mobile since the city was a French colony and a century before Alabama was a state in the nation.
The Catholic celebration traditionally begins 40 days before easter and lasts until Fat Tuesday. By the 1870s, the celebration had become much more elaborate than the ones held in previous years.
Mobile's mystic societies would sponsor lavish and expensive private balls after the parades where members would participate in themed plays, called tableaux, which were similar to the theme of the parade.
Read more about the history of Mardi Gras in Alabama here.
