Three parades will roll Thursday night in New Orleans with scores of masked riders on colorful floats. More processions will continue every day through Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday. Costumed revelers will jam the French Quarter as more parades roll in New Orleans' suburbs, other Louisiana cities, and all along the Mississippi and Alabama coasts.

Mardi Gras is less than a week away and security surrounding this year’s Fat Tuesday celebrations, marking the end of Carnival season in New Orleans, will be heightened following the deadly New Year’s Day terror attack on Bourbon Street.

New Orleans' efforts to reduce Mardi Gras waste and reuse beads and throws have been ongoing for decades and involve a complicated web of community groups, leaders and businesses. Carnival lasts just a few months each year, but collecting, sorting and reselling beads is a year-round endeavor.