Beads, cups and other throws gather in the gutter after a Mardi Gras parade in 2026. (Photo by Madhri Yehiya/Verite News)
NEW ORLEANS — Every year, hundreds of clean-up workers take to the streets following the largest Mardi Gras parades, cleaning up thousands of pounds of throws, wrappers, food, drinks and other trash.
Residents and visitors who’ve attended parades the night before are often awestruck at how clean the parade routes are the next day.
But after speaking with several workers on-the-ground during last year’s parade season, the New Orleans Workers’ Center for Racial Justice — a labor rights and economic empowerment organization — heard that the workers who get the routes in pristine condition do not receive adequate personal protection equipment and food and water to get them through clean-up shifts that last several hours. In order to draw attention to and improve conditions for the workers, the organization launched a campaign this year called “We Are Not Disposable” to recruit volunteers to hand out food, water and personal protection equipment to the clean-up crews.
Volunteers with New Orleans Workers’ Center for Racial Justice will be offering supplies to clean-up workers at two stations along the route during parades such as Muses and Iris — at Harmony Circle and outside of Fresh Market at the intersection of Louisiana and St. Charles avenues — in addition to at the start of the route where clean-up workers meet…