Keep Louisiana Beautiful (KLB) has chosen the City of Alexandria, Louisiana, to receive a Greener Grounds Grant鈥攄edicated to support Alex Winter F锚te鈥檚 waste management practices. Mayor Jacques Roy announced that KLB awarded the City of Alexandria the $9,991.60 grant to elevate Alex Winter F锚te鈥檚 current waste reduction plan.
“We won the Outstanding City Award for Love the Boot in 2025. We are cleaning up our City and this ensures we give our attendees all the fun and festivities Alex Winter F锚te offers while making for a safe, wholesome environment. You鈥檝e seen our CleanAlex crews鈥攆rom Mardi Gras to the Fetes鈥� knock it out. This grant makes it even better and represents part of our active partnership with KLB, ours being a one-of-kind model started here in conjunction with our Central Louisiana Regional Chamber of Commerce.鈥� Roy said.
KLB Executive Director, Susan Russell explains that Greener Grounds is more than just a cleanup supplies grant, endeavoring to improve litter prevention and waste management practices at large, outdoor Louisiana events such as fairs, festivals, parades and concerts. The grant supports the implementation of the best practices outlined in the Greener Grounds guidebook. 鈥淟ouisiana is home to more than 400 festivals and events annually attended by locals and tourists who come together to celebrate the state’s vibrant offerings of food, music, history, and culture. With these events often comes a completely avoidable and solvable issue: litter. While we all love to laissez les bons temps rouler, we must ensure the waste inevitably created by outdoor events does not threaten our environment. Keeping event sites clean not only enhances the attendees鈥� experience, but also helps stop the detrimental cycle of mismanaged waste becoming litter that will clog storm drains or enter waterways – an issue that harms the state’s coastline, wildlife and water quality.鈥�
Made possible with funding from the State of Louisiana and the Office of the Lieutenant Governor, 16 Greener Grounds Grants totaling over $105,300 were awarded to eligible organizations including Louisiana non-profits, municipalities and parishes that organize events of at least 1,000 attendees per day. The City of Alexandria will use the grant to educate the public of increased recycling efforts and to divert some festival waste from landfills.