Glass Half Full, Keep Louisiana Beautiful, ArcGNO, The Grounds Krewe, Realcycle, NolaCans4Food, Vintage Green Review, ricRACK, and SOUL Nola are nine non-profit organizations in New Orleans that work towards sustainability.
Each group has their own special way of promoting sustainability, whether that be through recycling Mardi Gras beads and throws, converting glass bottles into sand, planting more trees for infrastructure and natural purposes, or simply just picking up trash to keep Louisiana clean.
These non-profit organizations are critical to New Orleans’ sustainability efforts, and there are volunteer opportunities for each group for community members and Loyola students alike to partake.
Glass Half Full
3935 Louisa St., New Orleans, La 70126
Known as a grassroots glass recycling organization, Glass Half Full recycles glass to give back to the environment. They recycle their glass into sand and gravel that is used for coastal restoration, disaster relief, environmental construction, and other glass products. By recycling the glass and converting it into other forms, it has diverted millions of pounds of glass. Volunteers can sign up to work recycling shifts or other events throughout the year
Keep Louisiana Beautiful
111 N Causeway Blvd. Suite 104, Mandeville, La 70448
Keep Louisiana Beautiful, which is an affiliate of Loyola as of spring 2023, works toward reducing waste and litter, increasing recycling, and protecting the natural beauties of Louisiana. A few of their initiatives include: bettering policies and infrastructure, improving environmental law enforcement, and educating people in the community about littering.
ArcGNO
925 S Labarre Road, Metairie, La 70001
Locals and tourists alike can recycle Mardi Gras beads and throws through ArcGNO. Bead recycling through ArcGNO helps keep the streets of New Orleans clean and stop beads from clogging the drains. ArcGNO is one of the organizations that is part of Recycle Dat, a newly formed group that promotes recycling during Mardi Gras. Bead recycling through ArcGNO also provides jobs for those who have intellectual disabilities, and the organization encourages people of all abilities to volunteer to make Carnival more sustainable.
Grounds Krewe
3962 Magazine St., New Orleans, La 70115
Another bead recycling organization, Grounds Krewe aims to reduce the amount of waste and promote sustainability and recycling in New Orleans, specifically during Mardi Gras. Grounds Krewe sets up recycling bins all across the city during Mardi Gras, making it for parade-goers to either throw their trash away or recycle. They have an interactive marching krewe called the “Trashformers,” with krewedelusion that goes around the French Quarter and encourages people to recycle their aluminum cans and plastic bottles. The “marching krewe with a job to do” prevents 30 gallon bags of recyclable material from ending up in landfills each Carnival season. They also make Mardi Gras throws out of sustainable materials, in which krewes like Krewe of Iris, partners to maintain sustainable throws for parade-goers.
Realcycle
1123 9th St., Apt. 103, New Orleans, La 70115
Beyond bead recycling, Realcycle aims to instill faith in recycling to New Orleanians by providing 100% reliable recycling solutions for commercial, residential, and live events.
Composting
Composting is their specialty with all recycled food items being processed, mixed with carbon based material, and then sifted after breaking down for 90 days before being sold as finished compost materials for local plantings and growers.
Cardboard
The cardboard received by the organization is baled and shipped to Pratt Paper Mill where it is shredded and pulped to create new fibers – for new cardboard products.
Aluminum
After collecting aluminum cans, Realcycle sorts and sifts through them to remove all mixed metal materials, which must be recycled separately. Once the cans are sorted and crushed, they are donated to NolaCans4Food.
NolaCans4Food
3000 St Claude Ave., New Orleans, La 70117
This organization collects proceeds from aluminum cans to feed the New Orleans community. They’ve distributed over 1,400 meals to community fridges and diverted 103,577 cans from landfills. The organization picks up cans on the second Sunday of each month by sending text reminders to donors before picking up the bags from their homes. The organization also has several drop-off points around the city at places such as Lucky Dagger Tattoo, Twelve Mile Limit, Frenchmen Community Garden, West Bank, Nola Trap Kitchen, and Sea Cave. Drop-off hours can be found on their website. The organization is run primarily by volunteers, which they are always seeking, in roles ranging from cooking, driving, tabling, and scrapping.
Vintage Green Review
3530 Magazine St., New Orleans, La 70115
The store, which is nestled on Magazine Street, is the city’s first zero waste shop. The store’s mission is to reduce plastic waste by offering bulk refills of brand products, such as Dawn, Tide, or Seventh Generation with sustainable alternatives and reusing the containers customers already own. All store products are cruelty-free, all–natural, non-toxic, and ethically sourced from small businesses.
ricRACK
1927 Martin Luther King Jr Blvd., New Orleans, La 70113
ricRACK goes beyond being a consignment shop, as their mission is to increase public awareness of sustainability and waste reduction within the fashion industry. Through sewing classes, a creative re-use shop, educational outreach, community textile recycling, and “throw me something handmade” initiative, the nonprofit has diverted 8.5 tons of textiles from landfills with 1,040 volunteer hours. The store is seeking one time or weekly volunteers in-store every Thursday from 12:00 – 4:00 p.m.
SOUL Nola
4110 Hamburg St., New Orleans, La 70122
SOUL, which stands for Sustaining Our Urban Landscape, focuses on planting trees around the city for environmental purposes. Planting trees can help with flooding, subsidence, temperatures, and overall health and wellbeing of those in New Orleans. SOUL cares for the trees they plant to ensure the trees thrive in the community. They also provide educational resources for those who want to learn more. SOUL offers a variety of volunteer opportunities, including tree planting, truck driving, maintaining trees, and even team leading and office volunteer work for those with physical limitations.
