Join the Mardi Gras Eco Team volunteer effort

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) - The Mardi Gras Eco-Team will take to the streets for the first time this year to recycle aluminum and plastics this Carnival Season.

The volunteer effort will be focused in Spanish Plaza and Bienville Square on the dates of Saturday, Feb. 9 through Tuesday, Feb. 12.

Interested volunteers can either sign up online with HandsOn South Alabama, contact the Alabama Coastal Foundation at info@joinACF.org or 251-990-6002, or by emailing Valerie Kleinschmidt with the Downtown Mobile Alliance at vkleinschmidt@downtownmobile.org .

This effort is an initiative  of the Cleaner, Greener Events Committee led by the Downtown Mobile Alliance (DMA) and key partners include: Mobile BayKeeper, Alabama Coastal Foundation, Green Solutions, Keep Mobile Beautiful, and the City of Mobile. Volunteers must be 18 years or older to participate and will work in pairs using large recycle carts to collect materials.

“The Committee has been exploring strategies for reducing the amount of waste from Downtown Mobile events, as well as ways to create more awareness of the benefits of being more environmentally conscious," Valerie Kleinschmidt, project coordinator of the DMA, stated. "We began with BayFest in October and partnered with Mobilians on Bikes to host a bike valet service, set up a BayFest Goes Green page on the BayFest website, and established an Eco-Team that recycled plastics for the first time in the festival’s history, along with over 675 lbs. of aluminum. The Mardi Gras 2013 Cleaner, Greener effort will begin with recycling in Bienville Square and Spanish Plaza."

Additionally, Burton Rabby with Green Solutions, a company that handles recycling for several downtown businesses, will place wire recycle baskets along Church Street and other strategic areas.

Volunteers will be accepted through Wednesday, February 6. Shifts can be found online at the HandsOn South Alabama site and all begin an hour before the parades each day.

Volunteers will receive an Eco-Team t-shirt and the knowledge that they’re helping reduce the amount of waste ending up in landfills and increasing the reuse of materials.