How thousands of Mardi Gras beads are clogging New Orleans streets and creating an environmental 'disaster'

The streets of New Orleans will be full of beads today in celebration of Mardi Gras, which is French for Fat Tuesday. 

However, according to former Environmental Protection Agency regional administrator Judith Enck, the day that's meant in good fun is also a 'plastics disaster.'

The parades celebrating the Carnival season began in New Orleans on January 6 and at least five more are taking place today throughout the city.

Parade participants usually throw objects into the crowds such as sunglasses and beaded necklaces.

However, once the parades in New Orleans are over, the streets end up covered in trash and a massive cleanup operation takes place.

Mardi Gras is being celebrated today worldwide and its notable parades usually take place in New Orleans, Louisiana. Parade goers receive beaded necklaces during celebrations

The parades celebrating the Carnival season began in New Orleans on January 6 and at least five more are taking place today throughout the city

Mardi Gras is French for Fat Tuesday and has been around for thousands of years starting in Europe

The origins of Mardi Gras can be traced back to medieval Europe during the years of pagan celebrations of spring and fertility. 

Mardi Gras does not fall on the same date every year, but it always occurs on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday - the first day of Lent.

It has since become a day full of parades and celebrations worldwide in places like New Orleans, Venice, and Rio. 

Approximately one million people attend Mardi Gras in New Orleans every year. 

According to WDSU, it's estimated that an average of 25 million pounds of plastic beads are given out at New Orleans Mardi Gras parades every year.

Mardi Gras does not fall on the same date every year, but it always occurs on the Tuesday before Ash Wednesday - the first day of Lent

According to WDSU, it's estimated that an average of 25 million pounds of plastic beads are given out at New Orleans Mardi Gras parades every year

When they don't make their way into the crowd, the plastic beads can often be spotted tangled up in tree branches.

Other times, the necklaces can be found inside the aging storm drainage systems.

Enck told NPR that the plastic beads that are not removed from storm drains 'eventually get washed through the system and into Lake Pontchartrain.'

She added that the nonbiodegradable plastics are a threat to fish and wildlife. 

'The waste is becoming a defining characteristic of this event,' said Grounds Krewe founder Brett Davis. 

According to Judith Enck, the plastic beads that are not removed from storm drains 'eventually get washed through the system and into Lake Pontchartrain'

The Grounds Krewe is a non-profit organization in Louisiana that promotes waste prevention, recycling, and sustainable products at special events in New Orleans.

The organization participates in multiple parade cleanups during the carnival season.

According to their website, the Mardi Gras parades can produce up to 2.6 million pounds of trash in the streets, storm drains, and landfills in 12 days.

The non-profit is now advertising more than two dozen types of non-plastic and sustainable items, including beads made out of paper.

Davis, who has been attending the annual parades, admitted that he once caught 15 foam footballs at a parade.

'What am I going to do with another one?' he joked.

Enck is hoping that parade organizers will begin using biodegradable alternatives that Davis is promoting.

'There are great ways to have fun around this wonderful festival,' she said. 

'But you can have fun without damaging the environment.'