After each Mardi Gras parade there are beads laying along the street or those that end up in the trash. The problem is that the plastic beads typically thrown at Mardi Gras degrade very slowly and many just end up in a landfill.

New Orleans seems to have the biggest bead problem so it seems fitting that a group of LSU students may have found a solution.

Alexis Strain, a third-year biological sciences PhD student, and Lauren Rogers, a senior biological sciences major, are part of that team and self-proclaimed Mardi Gras enthusiasts. Through their work developing biodegradable Mardi Gras beads in an LSU lab, they’re helping to preserve and improve this great tradition that brings them and others so much joy.

PlantMe Beads is producing the current beads using 3D printers and bio-based plastics and is seeking ways to degrade them with the help of plants and soil bacteria.

Many of the team’s bead designs include tiny cages where seeds can be placed during the process. As a bonus, the seeds will grow into Earth-friendly plants where the beads land and decompose, ideally in a pot or garden at the recipient’s home.

“We can put a little message on it and tell them, ‘Hey, take me home, plant me,” Rogers says. “And they'll start growing it and hopefully see plastic degradation within a month.”

While this is just a start we still have alternatives items to throw like Moon Pies, caps, and kids toys. What is your favorite throw at the beach parades?