As we near Mardi Gras season, you may find yourself wondering what to do with the countless beads you will inevitably collect over the coming weeks.

Krewe de’ Kaoz, based in Foley, will be collecting used beads to repurpose and reuse for future Mardi Gras parades.

Renea Ammons, a member of Krewe de’ Kaoz, said the inspiration for the recycling initiative came to her in 2019 when she was fishing with her husband and noticed beads being littered in the water.

“I reeled my line in and up came a strand of beads,” Ammons said. “I began walking along the edge and noticed a ton of beads everywhere.”

Ammons said she started researching the bead recycling programs in New Orleans and learned that most of the beads thrown during parades are not biodegradable.

After discussing the issue, Ammons and fellow krewe member Sandy Adams set out to find a solution. Together, they came up with a plan to place recycling bins strictly for Mardi Gras throws in as many locations throughout the area as possible.

Foley’s Krewe de Kaoz will collect the donated throws from the bins and recycle them for use during the next Mardi Gras season, lessening the number of beads being thrown into the environment.

“I started talking with other Krewe members, and we were inspired to start a similar recycling program here in Foley,” Ammons said. “We will have bins out at a few locations in the area for about three weeks and will try to get as many beads as we can.”

Ammons said the organization usually collects around 200-250 beads, which they separate, wash and re-bundle themselves to use the next year.

“In New Orleans, they’re having a hard time trying to clean out their drainage systems due to Mardi Gras beads,” Adams said. “They’re having issues with beads clogging their drainage systems and a ton of these non-biodegradable beads just end up in landfills. We don’t want to be facing or causing any of those problems here in our area.”

Krewe de Kaoz makes no money off of the parade they provide, neither from those in attendance nor the krewe members. The members put on the parade with funds from their own pockets, and no membership fee is required in order to join the fun.

“We’re just a group of people who come together, get on a float, get out there and have fun, it doesn’t cost our krewe anything to participate,” Ammons said. “We’ve been having fun in the krewe for years, but now we’re looking to become more involved with the community, and we’d like to start by helping to recycle the throws and promote the reuse of Mardi Gras beads.”

Ammons said the organization is still finalizing this year's donation locations, and will publish those when they become available on their Facebook page.