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Please view these links for the facts:
Whale Watch Debris Report
Blue Ocean Society (BOS) researchers have been recording debris observed from whale watch boats off the New England coasts for over 8 years. Balloons have become the most common debris over the last 5 years.
Sea Turtle Image Library
SeaTurtle.org
“Kemp’s ridley juvenile & ingested balloon. Balloon fragment in stomach of green sea turtle.”
Farmer wins compensation after Red Nose Day balloon kills cow
The Telegraph
May 2011
“Farming and conservation groups are demanding a ban on mass releases of balloons and Chinese lanterns because of the deadly threat they pose to livestock and other wildlife.”
Do balloon releases kill marine life?
Wild Shores of Singapore
2011
“sea turtles and other wildlife have been found starved to death with latex balloons blocking their stomachs”
Helium Balloons May Have Caused 1993 Crash of Plane
Los Angeles Times
1994
“Investigators found pieces of balloons scattered near the crash area, and investigators concluded that the balloons may have been sucked into the plane’s engines. ..A witness on horseback heard a popping noise and saw what looked like a flare and some confetti fall away from the plane as it rolled and nose-dived.”
Litter threatens sea turtle survival
Michelle Nick AAP
Sydney Morning Herald
2011
“Balloons, plastic bags, nylon rope and even rubber thongs are providing a deadly diet for Australia’s critically endangered sea turtle population, a new study shows.”
Mass Balloon Release Kills
Wild Shores of Singapore
2009
“However, further studies indicate that balloons floating in seawater deteriorate at a much slower rate, with some balloons retaining their elasticity after twelve months. However long it might take for balloons to degrade, they can certainly stay intact in an animal’s gut long after ingestion, and long enough to cause death by starvation.”
Sowerby’s Beaked Whales and very early Audubon’s Shearwaters off New York
Ocean Wanderers
June 2012
“The most abundant sight throughout the day were party balloons. We must have seen more than 200 of different shapes and sizes.”
Operation Balloon Recovery
Channel Islands
2009
“What happens to all those balloons that escape into the sky? Many of them end up in the ocean. Unfortunately they are a hazard to ocean dwellers.”
Experimental Demonstration of Controlled Photodegradation of Relevant Plastic Compositions under Marine Environmental Conditions
A. Andrady, Research Triangle Institute
1988
“In the case of exposure in air, the balloons become weak and non-rubbery within six months of exposure. In sea water however the balloons retain their elastic nature much longer.”
Balloons and soft plastic kill sea turtles, slowly and painfully
Wild Shores of Singapore
2011
“Balloons, plastic bags, nylon rope, styrofoam are swallowed by sea turtles which mistake these for jellyfish”
What Goes Up Must Come Down
Lance Ferris
Australian Seabird Rescue
“We regularly pick balloons, scattered along the beaches, to avoid them being swallowed by turtles and seabirds.”
A Preliminary Investigation on Some Specific Aspects of Latex Balloon Degradation
A. Foley, Florida Marine Research Institute
1990
“Balloons that burst under the simulated conditions of high altitude in the freeze-dry machine and samples of “natural” balloon debris collected in Florida demonstrate that many if not most of the balloons that burst at a high altitude, although partly or mostly shredded, remain intact.”
Balloons kill marine animals
Patricia Sullivan
Honolulu Environmental Policy Examiner
2010
“Latex balloons float for just 10 hours, but can take a year or more to degrade, long enough to repeatedly wrap around or be ingested by turtles, sea birds and marine mammals. Scientists who work with stranded whales, dolphins, seals and sea turtles have found balloons, parts of balloons and balloon string in the stomachs of many of these dead animals. In 2003, volunteers collected 4,228 mylar and latex balloons just from New Jersey beaches.”
Floating Menace
Outdoor California
Rebecca Barboza
2010
“For years, biologists have documented the negative impacts of latex balloons on marine wildlife. More recently, researchers have seen devastating evidence of what they can do to terrestrial wildlife as well.”
Party balloons cause power outage
Fox 5 San Diego
June 12, 2012
“Thousands lose power when party balloons hit power…..tangled in an overhead power cable in an East County neighborhood caused it to overload, break and fall onto the road Tuesday, setting fire to a row of parked cars”
Up in the Air: The BLM’s Disappearing Helium Program
Charles G. Groat, Ph.D. and Robert Richardson, Ph.D.
Testimony before the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources
Committee on Natural Resources, U.S. House of Representatives
May 13th, 2010
“Our committee concluded that the sell-off has had and will continue to have adverse effects and we developed a series of recommendations to address several outstanding issues with respect to the reserve… If this path continues to be followed, within the next ten to fifteen years the United States will become a net importer of helium whose principal foreign sources of helium will be in the Middle East and Russia.”
Balloon releases pose risk to wildlife, environment
Brian Troutman
The Times and Democrat
2010
“Inflated balloons that make their way back to earth or water pose a risk for wildlife due to their probability of becoming ingested due to attractive color or their ribbons and tassels forming the perfect trap for animals to become entangled.”
Authorities plead for end to mass release of balloons
The Shetland Times
2009
“..an estimated 10,000 spent balloons around the coastline of Shetland and does not take into account balloons drifting in the sea.”
How the world’s helium is being depleted
Art Young
Helium
2010
“Unfortunately, the depletion of the nation’s helium supply affects a lot more than balloons.”
Balloon Trash Outreach
Jennifer Lewis
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
2011
“Eighty- seven what? On a pristine, uninhabited barrier island off the coast of Virginia, eighty-seven is not the number of birds counted running between the surf and sand. It is not the number of feet between the waves and the dunes. Eighty-seven IS the number of balloons found washed up on the beach, out of the ocean.”
What’s the problem with balloons?
Marine Conservation Society
“When balloons are released, they don’t just disappear. They float back down to earth where they are the same as any other litter. But balloons are particularly dangerous pieces of litter. They are mistaken for food by many species of wildlife, especially turtles.”
What happens to balloons after they are released?
Marine Conservation Society
Don’t Let Go! Pamphlet PDF
“Balloons float up into the air and disappear from your thoughts, but not from the environment. Beach litter surveys organized by the Marine Conservation Society have shown that the number of balloons and balloon pieces found on UK beaches has tripled in the last 10 years.”
Balloon Alert
Save the Whales
“Balloons are perceived as a celebration of life: The birth of a child, grand openings, fairs, birthdays, get well wishes, and anniversaries, among others. But for marine animals, balloons may mean death, as do other forms of plastic. Balloons are ingested by whales, dolphins, turtles, seals, fish and water-fowl, who innocently believe they are food such as jellyfish or squid. ONCE YOU KNOW BALLOONS BRING DEATH, YOU CAN ACT.”
Balloons as litter—a problem we can solve
Clean Virginia Waterways
“Balloons and their ribbons can be found on just about any beach. Animals mistake balloons for food, and they can become entangled in the ribbons. We can celebrate with balloons! Just don’t let them go!”
How do balloons affect wildlife?
Eileen Andreason
Audubon
“At best, free-flying balloons become litter; at worst, they jeopardize wildlife. Once airborne, they can travel far afield and often end up joining the flotsam riding the world’s oceans. One that was unleashed in a science fair experiment to investigate wind direction was retrieved on an island 1,300 miles from its release site. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration identifies balloons as a commonly reported source of marine debris.”
Balloons and Their Danger to Wildlife
Melanie Pearson
Director of Animal Care
New Canaan Nature Center
“The balloon does not simply disappear, at some point it will pop and make its way back to the ground and become litter. While balloon manufacturers argue that balloon litter is minor, environmental groups will report large numbers of balloons and balloon pieces collected in organized clean ups.”
Balloons kill bayside turtles
Linda Muller
Bayside Bulletin/The Redland Times
2008
“The release of helium balloons is no cause for celebration on North Stradbroke Island. Since Wednesday, hundreds of balloons have been recovered on Flinders Beach – each an uncanny representation of marine jellyfish. Wildlife carer Carolyn Hahn said helium filled balloons eventually shredded and, in the water, resembled the tentacles of a jellyfish.”
Time for a complete ban on mass balloon releases?
Steve Polkinghorne
Wildlife Extra
“Wars are fought over oil, diamonds, water, gold, religion, pride, food, …and balloons! Because for the past few years there has been a war of words, between the multi-million dollar balloon industry and environmentalists. Despite balloonaholics bombarding anybody who will listen with rather suspect evidence to the contrary, the facts suggest that balloons released into the environment really do pose a serious threat to wildlife – and any threat to wildlife today is a threat we could well do without, especially when it comes from something as utterly pointless as a balloon release.”
A salutary lesson in the perils of inflation
Andy Mabbet
BIRDGUIDES
2008
“Evidence has already been found of birds, dolphins, fish, Loggerhead Sea Turtles Caretta caretta, Leatherback Turtles Dermochelys coriacea, and Blue Sharks Prionace glauca suffering or dying, their stomachs blocked as a result of eating latex balloons.”
Why is it bad for the environment to release balloons into the air?
George Young
Earth Talk
2005
“Interestingly, the Balloon Council labels as “misinformation” claims that wildlife can be injured by ingesting balloons, yet duly warns on its website that young children under the age of eight “may choke or suffocate on uninflated or broken balloons.”
Proceedings of the International Marine Debris Conference on Derelict Fishing Gear and the Ocean Environment
Anthony L. Andrady
Program Manager and Senior Research Scientist, Chemistry and Life Sciences Division
Research Triangle Institute, North Carolina
August 6-11, 2000 Hawai’i Convention Center Honolulu, Hawai’i
“In an experiment we carried out in North Carolina we observed that balloons exposed floating in seawater deteriorated much slower than those exposed in air, and even after 12 months of exposure still retained their elasticity.”
Balloons’ Effect On the Environment
Peter C. Hibbard
New York Times
1990
“Natural latex is biodegradable and environmentally safe, but, according to Rubber Technology, it is treated with ammonia and with tetramethyl thiuram disulfide plus zinc oxide as a preservative against bacterial decomposition. Balloons are usually made with a small amount of plasticizer added. They hardly classify as natural after all that. In fact, sewage treatment plant operators report that latex is one of several problem materials that are not affected by the biological treatment system. “
Don’t Let Mylar Balloons Ruin The Party
SafeElectricity.org
Mylar Balloon Safety
“Each year, hundreds of thousands of consumers experience power outages caused by Mylar balloons contacting electrical equipment.”
Boy burned by Chinese lantern in Wrexham
Daily Post UK
November 2010
“..screamed in agony when scalding hot wax poured over his face at a Bonfire Night party..from a lantern set off into the night sky.”
Sky lanterns (Chinese paper lanterns) not environmentally-friendly
BBC News
October 2011
“An owl has been found dead apparently after becoming tangled up in a Chinese lantern at a Gloucestershire farm.”
Chinese sky lantern blamed for Trowbridge house fire
BBC News
July 2011
“I don’t want to feel like a spoilsport, but I don’t know how you can set them off safely given the potential they have to cause fires..”
Red Balloons Entering San Francisco Bay Brings Stiff Response from San Francisco Regional Water Board
California Water Boards
December 2011
“The San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board (Regional Water
Board) has fined national marketing company TrashTalkFCM $7,000 for a promotional event that resulted in hundreds of red, latex balloons falling into San Francisco Bay. The company has agreed to a stipulated settlement as a result of the incident.”
Man’s Romantic Balloon Gesture a Felony: Florida
Newser.com
February 2013
“Florida Highway Patrol trooper was watching too, and deemed the act an environmental crime.” “..charged with a third-degree felony under the rarely used Florida Air and Water Pollution Control Act.”
