Kickstart: Think jambalaya, not beads, for Mardi Gras parades

In New Orleans, Mardi Gras lasts for more than one day. Parades and events to mark the coming season of Lent actually begin in January. But there is a new twist to this weekend's Krewe of Iris parade: Rather than plastic beads, organizers will be tossing keepsake bags of jambalaya mix, red beans, coffee, colored pencils made from recycled newsprint and even bamboo toothbrushes.

"People don't want beads," Krewe of Iris Captain Kristin Danflous told NOLA.com. "I tell my members, 'You are wasting your money.' I want to move in the direction of not having beads. I hate throwing beads."

Krewe of Iris is working with Grounds Krewe, an organization created in 2018 to collect and recycle beads after a parade. After a few cleanups, Grounds Krewe realized that the best way to divert beads from the waste stream was to create sustainable alternatives.

The keepsakes created for Krewe of Iris use bags made of jute (which will also break apart naturally if they're overlooked) and that are also are marked with scannable codes so paradegoers can get more information on the items they receive.

And if groups still want to throw beads, Grounds Krewe's sustainable throws catalog offers beads made with açai seed, palm tree seeds and recycled paper.

The makers of single-use coffee pods have been working to make their products recyclable, but it's still a complicated process even for people determined to recover the packaging.

But what if that entire pod could be tossed into a compost bin? (Although, obviously, not everyone has access to a municipal or industrial composting program.)

Our sister paper Sustainable Plastics writes that NatureWorks, a maker of bio-based polylactic acid, is working with Italian coffee packaging firm IMA Coffee "to deliver a turn-key compostable coffee pod solution to the entire coffee industry."

The focus has been on pods that are compatible with Keurig's K-cup system, and NatureWorks says it is working with North American brands in hopes to bring the compostable pod to store shelves soon.

Plastics News has been working behind the scenes to buff up its data library. (By Plastics News, I mean Hollee Keller, our editorial research coordinator who handles the bulk of the work.)

The changes now available on our website will allow paid subscribers to read ranking information about processors, but a new Data Subscription package will allow readers to download and save more information collected during research for rankings.

"Get premium access to the data that drives decisions," Hollee writes in a blog explaining the changes. "Our six North American plastic processors rankings include related sales figures, process data, materials, end markets, plant locations and more."