Being fined for releasing balloons

[Marmitecrackers]

I've just seen another thing on TV where people were releasing tonnes of balloons to mark some sort of anniversary. I'm sure it seems sentimental but I can't quite believe anyone still thinks it's ok to release loads of little pieces of rubber to be scattered all over the place.

If I popped 100 balloons and just left them in the street as I popped them people would be appalled. Yet where the heck do they think the released balloons are going to end up??

Am I being unreasonable fir thinking you should be fined for littering if you do one of these mass releases of balloons?

I too can't believe this still happens. I know a lovely vegan couple (relevant because of the harm to animals?) who very sadly lost their son. They have a mass release every year to remember him, but who's going to tell them they shouldn't?

@OffThePlanet

Besides the animals killed by balloons and the littering problem. Helium is in short supply and is used in MRIs so shouldn’t be wasted on balloons.

Oh anyone remember the last thread about this? (Ps it’s not medical grade helium)

I agree.
Fireworks, lanterns and balloons are all hazards to the environment.

Bubbles would be a much better choice, they float off in a similar way. Although quite a lot of bubble mix is toxic to animals and persists in the environment, you can get biodegradable/eco bubble mix.

You can't say anything about it when the bereaved have an actual event in the offing.

Which is why this thread is important. Because it's talking about the action unrelated to any individual. And what is needed is for this to become something which you Just Don't Do

No one wants their remembrance to be a scarred or dead creature

There is also a finite supply of helium in the world, and it is needed for mri scanners. Why we allow it's use in balloons is beyond me.
www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/helium-supply-world-shortage-run-out-recycle-mri-scanners-deep-sea-diving-balloons-a8741081.html

I caused a ruckus on a local site amongst a bunch of women planning to release balloons for Alfie Evans. I reported them to the council, local park etc when they insisted Balloons going to heaven was more meaningful than killing wildlife and polluting the environment.

Anyone releasing balloons should be fined for littering in the same way anyone not disposing of waste properly is.

Medical grade helium is helium with added oxygen. Helium is an element that cannot be manufactured.

On a beach clean up the worst things were the shiny tape that are attached to helium balloons (those birthday ones) - they are indestructable and end up entangled in everything and anything making islands of junk which are heavy and difficult to lift and clear.

It makes me so mad, the amount of waste that goes into acts of demonstrative schmultz in the name of sentiment and looking good on social media.

Massive balloons to mark a kid's birthday
Gender reveals
Baby showers
Christmas boxes
Roadside cellotaphs (borrowing that excellent term)
Any release of something other than, I guess, paper based stuff

It's bullshit. Someone who's dead is not going to be any happier for you releasing tons of plastic into the environment. It's the worst kind of attention-seeking behaviour IMO. Someone on our local FB was selling these massive & bizarre Christmas balloon/ glitter sculptures "make it a Christmas they never forget"... made me mad. I wanted to add "before they die horribly or are reduced to a mediaeval existence due to you fucking up the planet with all this shite".

Sending balloons up to people in heaven, really ?
How about planting a tree or two in their memory instead.

I loved balloons. They are beautiful and it used to make me happy blowing up dozens for a children’s party or buying in balloon bouquets and arches for a special event. Sadly nowadays I know better and don’t buy them anymore. They should go the way of plastic straws.

Biodegradable does not mean you pop the balloon and it disappears into thin air. They still pose the same immediate risks to wildlife.

Like another poster said upthread, I would quite happily see balloons banned altogether. Even disposed of in a bin they're still an unnecessary environmental abomination.

Push the other one, it'll swap over

YANBU, and PPs pointing out how "biodegradable" balloons are not eco friendly are correct. It seems that many well-meaning people are taken in by that "greenwashing" BS and don't think further than that, so no thought given to what the balloons actually biodegrade into or how long it takes. A few years ago a local MP opened a new wing at a college, complete with balloon release. I asked some awkward questions to the principle and was ushered away, and I regret not making a bigger fuss about it (just didn't have the emotional energy at the time).
balloonsblow.org/latex-balloons-still-kill/

@Crunched

There are biodegradable balloons available. Are you sure the event you watched wasn't using them? I was invited to a (virtual) baby shower and could not tell the balloon decorations were eco friendly had it not been highlighted by the hosts.

Surely even biodegradable balloon take a long time to break down and in the mean time they are just litter and risk to wildlife.

I've looked for active petitions regarding balloon release and found one, which ends on 15th November. The government have responded, "The Government takes its responsibility of safeguarding the environment seriously. Based on evidence available, we have concluded that an outright ban would be disproportionate in the circumstances..."
Fuckers! 😠
petition.parliament.uk/petitions/310556

I was told that as long as they are natural latex and they reach the proper height they burst into minute pieces that biodegrade quickly, but the person who told me did balloon releases for charities! Plastic balloons should be completely banned

Could've been biodegradable ones

Ps we switched from balloons to bulb planting a few years ago I should have added.

Yanbu and ditto those flying fire starters !

Even worse than adults releasing balloons is teaching children to do it. "Heaven" isn't in the sky and it isn't in a field eventually killing someone's beloved animal. We could stop this now and teach the next generation how stupid and cruel it is.
Biodegradable balloons don't help much as they will still have string, foil cord, ribbon and labels on them. We need to get away from the idea that floating litter into the air is a wonderful thing.