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Biodegradable Mardi Gras beads help make Carnival season more sustainable
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Alexis Strain, graduate student in biological sciences at Louisiana State University, shows the biodegradable Mardi Gras beads they are developing, Jan. 27, 2026, in Baton Rouge, La. - photo by AP Photo/Gerald Herbert
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — It is Carnival season in New Orleans. That means gazillions of green, gold and purple Mardi Gras beads. Once made of glass and cherished by parade spectators who were lucky enough to catch them, today cheap plastic beadnecklaces from overseas are tossed from floats by the handful.