I commend the Krewe of Freret for considering the ecosystem of New Orleans.
However, I can't imagine residents and tourists around the world, screaming with excitement "Let's go to a Mardi Gras parade and catch ... some sustainable throws (fanny packs and sunglasses)!"
Without banning beads, a similar sustainable result can be achieved by the riders not throwing packs of beads at a time, but instead throwing one bead at a time to get, as was stated in a recent article, "the important connection."
Remember the law of supply and demand. The krewes and riders ordering beads need to order appropriately.
Finally, have riders keep the single-use plastic bags the beads come packaged in inside the float until the end of the parade for disposal.
Remember, without paradegoers, it is really not a parade, just a traffic jam.
MARTIN AUDIFFRED
Mandeville
