When attending Mardi Gras parades, you can expect to catch some beads, Moon Pies and even some stuffed animals.

Once the floats have completed their route, the streets start to return to their normal state. As soon as the final parade float goes by, street sweeper crews in cities like Gulf Shores immediately begin cleaning up left-over debris.

“The role of the cleanup crew is to pick up leftover beads, throws, candy, etc., from the street and remove all barricades and sand fencing so that traffic can return to a normal flow,” said Amy McKenzie, management analyst for the city. “The cleanup crew also assists with traffic control and crowd control.”

It takes the clean up crew around two hours to complete the cleaning process. This is repeated after every parade.

To effectively clean debris, the cleanup crew uses backpack blowers, street sweeper, ride-on-blowers, buckets, pickers, trash bags and a shovel for any tough-to-remove messes.

“During cleanup, items like plastic wrappers, cups, beads, pet waste and confetti are removed, along with any other litter, to ensure these items do not leave the route area and potentially disrupt the ecosystem around us,” McKenzie said. “It is also important to keep these items away from drains in order to keep drainage clear of obstacles and flowing properly.”

If trash is not effectively picked up, debris could travel into the drains, finding its resting place in our local waters.

“Mardi Gras is the best time, and the cleanup is a very important piece to reduce the impact of litter in our water,” Mobile Bay Keeper Education Director Valerie Longa said.

Mobile Bay Keeper (MBK) aims to defend and revive the health of the waters of coastal Alabama and keep debris out of local waters.

“The sad reality is that some trash does end up in Mobile Bay and affects the health of our wildlife, people and local economies,” Longa said. “Trash in the water and on the land can be mistaken for food by wildlife or even entangle animals with lethal consequences.”

MBK previously worked with the City of Mobile to install temporary storm drain covers and concrete inlet screens along the Mardi Gras parade route to reduce litter entering one mile creek.

These concrete inlet screens will not prevent water flow, can capture hundreds of pounds of debris and bypass opening prevent clogging.

MBK hosts monthly cleanups, and anyone can volunteer to help keep the waterways clean from debris.