Sidney Donaldson Jr. is a professional photographer who owns Sidney Donaldson Photography, based in New Orleans.
For three years, he's been shooting the cleaning process that happens after Mardi Gras.
Last year it was reported that the trash from Mardi Gras weighed almost 2 million pounds.
Sidney took the photos between the hours of 4 a.m. and 8 a.m. He told BuzzFeed that the four-hour time span is about how long it takes to finish cleaning the streets.
"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," Sidney explained.
Sidney said he started taking the photos after thinking about the cleaning process and how no one really gets to see how it happens. "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."
Sidney shared the photos on his Facebook page, where people quickly started sharing and commenting. His post has nearly 20,000 shares.
"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," said Sidney.
Sidney said that the trash generated in these images was from a time span of 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."
Sidney said that the reactions people have after seeing the photos are mixed: "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. Some say it's great job security for the workers. From my perspective, 99% of the trash is from people out of town."
"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," he continued.
Sidney said the city can work to improve some things, like the amount of plastic that is being used. "Adding temporary trash cans or extra workers to keep up with the overfill would help as well," he added.
"The real heroes are the ones who work for KBS/Empire [Services]," Sidney said.
He added, "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."
