The annual jubilance and carefree celebrations that have become synonymous with Mardi Gras in New Orleans, Louisiana, have become a staple Carnival season, but new photos show the extensive garbage local sanitation crews have to clean up once the party's over.
Pictures taken by Sidney Donaldson Jr. show crews using forklifts to scoop of thousands of discarded beads off French Quarter's streets and bulldozer shoving forgotten cups out of view.
Donaldson told Buzzfeed that he took the photos between 4am and 8am, which is about how long it takes to clear out the garbage.
Photos taken on the morning after New Orleans, Louisiana's, infamous Mardi Gras celebration show the shocking amount of trash left behind in the French Quarter and the lengths sanitation workers in go through every year to clean up the forgotten mess
Crew members pick up the inordinate amount of discarded Mardi Gras beads left on the ground with several forklifts and use bulldozers to clear out garbage -including party favors, used cups, plates and other waste - out of the road from 4am to around 8am that morning
A 2019 report found that Mardi Gras revelers left behind a almost two million pounds of trash behind after the city reported a whopping 1,200 tons was cleaned up by sanitation crews in 2018
Sidney Donaldson Jr., the photographer who took the eye-opening photos, said that locals usually push blame for the enormous amount of trash on wild tourists who visit the city specifically for Mardi Gras celebrations
'The sanitation crew that cleans the French Quarter is actually where I used to work. I helped out for quite a few years cleaning the streets. It was like an atomic bomb hit the streets during Mardi Gras,' he said.
Donaldson became inspired to snap the photos after thinking about the difficult cleaning process and realized not many people get to see the aftermath of Mardi Gras.
'I thought this would be a great behind-the-scenes moment for people to see what it actually takes to get it done. Working and doing it firsthand really puts things into perspective,' Donaldson said.
A 2019 report said that Mardi Gras has accumulated nearly two million pounds last year. This year, reports say that a staggering 50 million tons.
He initially posted the photos to his Facebook page, where the collection received 27,000 shares and a plethora of reactions ranging from disgust to outrage.
Donaldson, who compared the streets of French Quarter after Mardi Gras to an 'atomic bomb', said he decided to capture sobering scenes after realizing many people don't realize what goes into restoring parts of New Orleans after the city's biggest celebration
A sea of abandoned cups, Mardi Gras masks, plastic straws, colorful beads and black plastic bags completely envelope the street outside Felix's Restaurant and Oyster Bar after Fat Tuesday in New Orleans
Since Donaldson shared the photo collection to his Facebook page, the post has garnered more than 27,000 shares and several reactions ranging from shocked, to disgusted, to outraged that conditions are allowed to get this muddled
'The people who have never been to the city think it's a huge trash heap and can't believe how dirty the city looks. And the locals defend it, saying how it's the tourists' fault for making the mess,' Donaldson explained.
'Some say it's great job security for the workers. From my perspective, 99% of the trash is from people out of town.'
Donaldson said: 'Being a local myself, it's upsetting. It's almost a Catch-22, though. The business that is brought into our city for Mardi Gras every year is amazing. It is the life blood of New Orleans.'
'However, it does make the locals angry to see how people come to such a great city and cause this much damage in one day.'
A sanitation worker operates a forklift to lift the several pounds of trash - that are mostly appear encompassed of thrown away beads - in a large dumpster that was eventually removed from the French Quarter once cleaning was done
As a woman walked down a street in New Orleans' French Quarter in the early hours after Mardi Gras, at least four sanitation crew members sweep the ground in an effort to clear plastic waste
Donaldson said the trash accumulated on the city's notorious Bourbon Street (pictured) amassed under 24 hours and has to be removed with special construction equipment to to clean the area
Donaldson called sanitation workers the 'real heroes' of Mardi Gras, adding what they do is amazing and 'If it wasn't for them, the city wouldn't be cleaned in just four hours after the biggest trash event every year'
He said the trash seen in the photos was created in less than 24 hours.
'Let's also not forget the sheer waste that is taking place, from plastic beads to plastic cups. It is literally a sea of plastic you have to walk through to get anywhere,' said Donaldson.
'The perception of Bourbon Street is that it's dirty. People see the way everyone acts out here and think that's it's okay to just throw the trash everywhere. If you live or work in or frequent the city, I promise you not one of those people would ever trash it.'
With images showing plastic waste on the ground and beads strung along a rope between buildings in the French Quarter, Donaldson said it is 'literally a sea of plastic you have to walk through to get anywhere' after the Mardi Gras celebration takes place
According to Donaldson, some people have perceptions that New Orleans is dirty because of the way visitors treat the city when they visit for celebrations, but locals who frequent the city rarely leave behind such garbage during the year
A machine carrying several armfuls of beads and other trash follows behind a dump truck in the French Quarter during early morning cleanup in New Orleans
Donaldson, and social media users, have suggested the City of New Orleans enact new policies to stop the overflowing waste found after Mardi Gras, including temporary trash cans or extra workers to the scene
Donaldson agreed with some social media users who said the City of New Orleans could take a more environmental approach to the yearly festival, including reducing the amount of plastic being used and distributed.
He said: 'Adding temporary trash cans or extra workers to keep up with the overfill would help as well.'
Donaldson maintains that the 'real heroes' of Mardi Gras are the workers at KBS/Empire Services who restore the French Quarter after everyone's left for the night.
'If it wasn't for them, the city wouldn't be cleaned in just four hours after the biggest trash event every year. It's truly amazing what they do,' he added.
As the beginnings of morning light rise about New Orleans, sanitation workers and crews remain in French Quarter finish clearing the ground as a trash collector truck drives on Bourbon Street
Sanitation workers succeeded in cleaning up the several pounds of mess left by people enjoying Mardi Gras in the French Quarter, but will most likely be back next year to repeat the cycle
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