The Krewe of Freret is taking the bold step and prohibiting plastic beads from being thrown by members of their organization in the future. Freret Captain Bobby Hjortsberg said many of the plastic beads contain toxins, they end up in trees and wreak havoc on New Orleans’ drainage system.
“In a place that desperately needs the drains. We have a very delicate ecosystem here in New Orleans, and I think doing something that contributes to further exacerbate the problems that we have is a bad idea,” said Hjortsberg.
Hjortsberg said the co-ed and diverse organization had been thinking about doing away with plastic beads for some time, but because their Krewe is only thirteen years old, they didn’t want to necessarily rock the boat.
“I won’t say that we weren’t a little nervous, doing it because we weren’t 100% certain of what the feedback was going to be. It appears, at least thus far, that everybody overwhelmingly is satisfied with the decision,” said Hjortsberg.
He said the feedback to do away with beads has been extremely positive and Freret along with other krewes in New Orleans have been focusing on more sustainable throws like socks, luggage tags, masks, and hats. Hjortsberg said even local bead vendors are jumping on the trend and expanding their options.
“The beads can be replaced with other items that we get from these vendors. The vendors are going to be fine,” said Hjortsberg.
In 2018 along a five-block stretch of St. Charles Avenue, 46 tons of plastic beads were retrieved from the catch basins.
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