Now that you are all done with Mardi Gras – you may find yourself with a house full of beads and no place to put them. Instead of shoving them in your attic, and forgetting about them until you have to move, how about recycling your Mardi Gras beads?!
What about all my other throws that I don’t want either?
We’ve got your answers below!
Stuffed Animals
All those stuffed animals you just caught in the past 2 weeks are now piled in your corner. The ones with krewe names and dates are very hard to re-sell. Consider dropping them off at a local pet shelter. A homeless pup would love a little something to snuggle with.
Another suggestion: find a local women’s and children’s shelter that can use them.
ArcGNO will always take them off your hands too.
Mardi Gras Cups
Caught more cups than you need? Well, don’t throw them into your recycling bin. They won’t be recycled – they will only be sorted and then sent to a landfill. Here’s our suggestions: donate them to ArcGNO or find a local art studio that needs them! Lots of artists use the cups for their paint brushes.
Mardi Gras Beads
If you’re real crafty, you can upcycle the beads into future costumes and wreaths. If crafting isn’t your game, then you need to donate them to ArcGNO. ArcGNO takes your unwanted Mardi Gras throws and turns them into jobs. They employ people with intellectual disabilities to sort through, repackage, and resell your discarded throws. With locations ALL over the metro area, there is no reason you can’t drop them off.
Here is a list of all their drop off sites:
- Metairie Community Center – 925 Labarre Rd, Metairie, LA 70001
- Uptown Community Center – 1771 Nashville Ave, New Orleans, LA 70115
- Chalmette Community Center – 3700 Jean Lafitte Pkwy., Chalmette
- Northshore Community Center – 106 East 25th Ave, Covington, LA 70433
Downtown
- Audubon Aquarium of the Americas – 1 Canal St, New Orleans, LA 70130
- Audubon Butterfly Garden and Insectarium – 423 Canal St, New Orleans, LA 70130
- New Orleans City Hall – 1300 Perdido St, New Orleans, LA 70112
- The Roosevelt Hotel New Orleans – 130 Roosevelt Way, New Orleans, LA 70112
- Omni Riverfront Hotel – 701 Convention Center Blvd, New Orleans, LA 70130
- Windsor Court Hotel – 300 Gravier St, New Orleans, LA 70130
- Westin New Orleans Canal Place – 100 Iberville St, New Orleans, LA 70130
- Frenchman Orleans at 519 – 519 Frenchmen St, New Orleans, LA 70116
- Magnolia Physical Therapy – 234 Loyola Ave, Ste 302 New Orleans, LA 70112
- Hilton New Orleans Riverside – 2 Poydras St, New Orleans, LA 70130
- Royal Sonesta New Orleans – 300 Bourbon St, New Orleans, LA 70130
- Hotel Monteleone – 214 Royal St, New Orleans, LA 70130
- Staybridge Suites New Orleans – 501 Tchoupitoulas St, New Orleans, LA 70130
- Maison De Cheveux – 201 St Charles Ave #127, New Orleans, LA 70170
- Renaissance New Orleans Pere Marquette French Quarter Area Hotel – 817 Common St, New Orleans, LA 70112
- Renaissance New Orleans Arts Warehouse District Hotel – 700 Tchoupitoulas St, New Orleans, LA 70130
- Dauphine Orleans Hotel – 415 Dauphine St, New Orleans, LA 70112
- Loews Hotel – 300 Poydras St, New Orleans, LA 70130
Uptown
- Audubon Zoo – 6500 Magazine St, New Orleans, LA 70118
- Avenue Plaza Resort – 2111 St Charles Ave, New Orleans, LA 70130
- Touro Synagogue – 4238 St Charles Ave, New Orleans, LA 70115
- Gulf Coast Bank: Main Office – 200 St Charles Ave, New Orleans, LA 70130
- Best Western Plus St. Charles Inn – 3636 St Charles Ave, New Orleans, LA 70115
- Loyola University at Biever Hall and Carrollton Hall – 6363 St Charles Ave, New Orleans, LA 70118
- Magnolia Physical Therapy – 2613 Napoleon Ave. New Orleans, LA 70115
- Whole Foods – 5600 Magazine St, New Orleans, LA 70115
- ArcGNO Uptown Community Center – 1771 Nashville Ave, New Orleans, LA 70115
- Reginelli’s Pizzeria Uptown – 5961 Magazine St. New Orleans, LA 70118
- The Avenue Pub – 1732 St Charles Ave, New Orleans, LA 70130
- Dirty Coast – 5631 Magazine St, New Orleans, LA 70115
- New Orleans & Company – 2020 St Charles Ave, New Orleans, LA 70130
- Bruno’s Tavern – 7538 Maple St, New Orleans, LA 70118
- Latter Branch Public Library – 5120 St Charles Ave, New Orleans, LA 70115
- Rosa F. Keller Library and Community Center – 4300 S Broad Ave, New Orleans, LA 70125
- Children’s Resource Center Library – 913 Napoleon Ave, New Orleans, LA 70115
New Orlean East
- East New Orleans Public Library – 5641 Read Blvd, New Orleans, LA 70127
- Audubon Louisiana Nature Center – 11000 Lake Forest Blvd, New Orleans, LA 70127
- Magnolia Physical Therapy – 2372 St. Claude Ave, Ste 104 New Orleans, LA 70117
- The Green Project – 7243, 2831 Marais St, New Orleans, LA 70117
- Alvar Library – 913 Alvar St, New Orleans, LA 70117
Mid-City
- Gulf Coast: Carrollton –
- Norman Mayer Library – 3001 Gentilly Blvd, New Orleans, LA 70122
Metairie
- Rouses – 2701 Airline Dr, Metairie, LA 70001
- Longue Vue House and Gardens – 7 Bamboo Rd, New Orleans, LA 70124
- Gulf Coast Bank: Veterans – 1825 Veterans Blvd. Metairie, LA 70005
- Jefferson Parish Library – East Bank Regional Library – 4747 West Napoleon Ave. Metairie, LA 70001
- Lafreniere Park – Near the Carousel – 3000 Downs Blvd, Metairie, LA 70003
- ArcGNO Metairie Community Center – 925 Labarre Rd, Metairie, LA 70001
Lakeview
- Gulf Coast Bank: Lakeview Branch – 848 Harrison Ave, New Orleans, LA 70124
- Robert E. Smith Public Library – 6301 Canal Blvd, New Orleans, LA 70124
Harahan
- Magnolia Physical Therapy – 5606 Jefferson Highway, Harahan, LA 70123
Westbank
- Jefferson Parish Library – West Bank Regional Library – 2751 Manhattan Blvd, Harvey, LA 70058
- ArcGNO Westwego Community Center – 333 Sala Ave, Westwego, LA 70094
- Algiers Regional Library – 3014 Holiday Dr, New Orleans, LA 70131
- Cita Dennis Hubbell Branch Library – 725 Pelican Ave, New Orleans, LA 70114
Fun Fact! (For when you forget about your beads and find them 3 months from now)
New Orleans Sanitation Department accepts beads year round! Drop them off on the SECOND and FOURTH SATURDAY OF EACH MONTH at 2829 ELYSIAN FIELDS AVENUE – 8:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
Be a good New Orleanian and don’t throw them in the trash!