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LSU lab looking to make biodegradable Mardi Gras beads widely available next year
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BATON ROUGE - In an initiative to make Mardi Gras more sustainable, LSU has created 3-D printed biodegradable Mardi Gras beads.
The beads contain seeds people can take home to plant, which helps break down the beads.
Graduate student Alexis Strain says the project has been developing since 2016. In 2024, LSU students came up with an idea to 3-D print the beads during a lab project. Now, they've developed two new prototypes.
"One of these is made with PHA [polyhydroxyalkanoates]. This is a compound that's made and produced by bacteria. And, because it's made by bacteria, it can be broken down by bacteria. We also have another model that's made with PLA [polylactic acid]. This version, we are currently still working on and testing. This is one of the more commonly used filaments in 3-D printing," Strain said.
She says traditional beads are bad for the environment as they can clog sewers and contain heavy metals. The compounds the group uses for this project are meant to provide an alternative to petroleum sources.
"These traditional beads are often made of petroleum products. They're not environmentally friendly. They often contain heavy metals, and these can get into the environment and cause harmful effects. PLA is derived from corn starch. Rather than using a petroleum source, they're from a plant-based source. It's one of the ways that they can be more ecologically friendly," she said.
She also says they are talking with 3-D printing farms about mass production, and they hope to make them available for krewes next year.
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