It is Carnival season in the US city of New Orleans. That means gazillions of green, gold and purple Mardi Gras beads.
Once made of glass and cherished by parade spectators, today, cheap plastic beaded necklaces are tossed from floats by the handful.
However, a Mardi Gras without beads also seems unimaginable. That is why it was a radical step when the Krewe of Freret banned plastic beads from their parade last year. The Krewe of Freret is a social organisation that organises festivities for Carnival season.
This year, beads are back, but not the cheap plastic ones. Freret is one of three groups throwing biodegradable beads.
The “PlantMe Beads” are 3D-printed from a starch-based, commercially available material. The individual beads are large hollow spheres containing okra seeds. The necklaces can be planted, and the okra attracts bacteria that help them decompose.
