NEW ORLEANS — The French Quarter Management District (FQMD) will provide 16 hotels in the French Quarter with free bead recycling service for Mardi Gras 2026. The recycling program, now in its third year, will be facilitated by Glass Half Full. In 2025, over ten thousand pounds (10,705 lbs.) of Mardi Gras beads were collected, more than double the 3,346 lbs. collected in 2024.
All Mardi Gras beads collected by Glass Half Full will be donated to ArcGNO where they will be sorted and repackaged, providing employment opportunities to people with intellectual disabilities.
Bead recycling bins began appearing in hotel lobbies, floors and utility areas on Monday, January 19tt, 2026 (Mardi Gras concludes on Tuesday, February 17.) Each participating hotel will host bead recycling stations and encourage guests to drop unwanted, lightly-used beads into 64-gallon bins.
“The bead recycling partnership helps protect the historic streets, sidewalks, and drainage infrastructure of the French Quarter by reducing post-Mardi Gras debris, ensuring that one of Louisiana’s most treasured cultural districts remains clean, walkable and visually intact,” said FQMD Executive Director Michelle Courseault.
Steve Caputo, General Manager of The Monteleone Hotel, welcomes the bead recycling program. “For years, hotels had to develop systems to collect and dispose of all those left-over Mardi Gras beads. I know I speak for our staff and, most likely our guests, when I say we all feel better knowing the beads will not only be collected but recycled for a good cause,” he said.
During the season Glass Half Full may conduct as many as 10 pickups per day at participating hotels. This year, the homegrown company will also collect and recycle cardboard boxes discarded by riders after loading beads and other throws on floats.
Mardi Gras Bead Recycling Program Participants
The 2026 Mardi Gras Bead Recycling program participants include:
- Bienville House
- Courtyard by Marriott – Downtown Near the French Quarter
- Courtyard Marriott Iberville French Quarter
- Hilton Riverside
- Hotel Monteleone
- Hotel Provincial
- Hotel de la Monnaie
- Hyatt Centric French Quarter
- La Galerie Hotel
- New Orleans Marriott at 555 Canal
- Ritz-Carlton
- Sheraton New Orleans
- The Royal Sonesta New Orleans
- The Saint
- The Westin New Orleans
- Wyndham New Orleans – French Quarter
Hotel owners or staff members interested in bringing the FQMD’s bead recycling program to their business can sign up at glasshalffull.co/mardi.
Not Just Beads – Year-Round Recycling Program
In addition to bead recycling, FQMD provides year-round, weekly free glass, aluminum, paper/cardboard, and plastic recycling at three different French Quarter drop off locations in partnership with Glass Half Full. For full information on FQMD’s work, visit www.fqmd.org
About French Quarter Management District (FQMD)
The French Quarter Management District (FQMD) is a state political subdivision created by the Louisiana Legislature as a means for the residential and business communities to work together to protect, preserve and maintain the world-famous French Quarter as a safe, clean, vibrant and friendly neighborhood for residents, businesses, and visitors. FQMD supports security, public safety and quality of life initiatives in the French Quarter. For more information, visit https://www.fqmd.org/.
