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?

[ErrolTheDragon]

One can hardly put the guilt in the baby!

Indeed, it's not the baby's fault to have thoughtless parents. The woman who accidentally started 'gender reveal' parties has been interviewed and regrets it (the fire, but also the whole concept)

[Oldandcobwebby]

Those balloons are filled with increasingly scarce helium, which some scientists believe will be virtually unobtainable in 25-30 years. Helium is used in many important processes, not least in MRI scanners. It's crazy to waste it on harmful frivolities like balloons.

[bettbattenburg]

@Kokeshi123

And yes, I get that grieving people can think of nothing else but their loved one who is now dead. Which is why it would be better to ban these balloons by law. That way, releasing them is no longer an option, nobody has to argue about it any more, and bereaved people don't have to make the decision one way or another, or suffer additional pain by seeing others' negative comments. Problem solved.

Even when grieving, as I am currently, we can still apply critical thought. I was unable to go to the funeral or the ash scattering but never in a million years would I think releasing balloons was an appropriate thing to do. But yes, I agree a ban is a good idea unless all balloons are made biodegradable.

[lockeddownandcrazy]

They kill animals and sealife, terrible thing to do for any reason.

[Defenbaker]

Courgetteandbeans posted:

"Organised littering is what it is."

@Courgetteandbeans Nicely put. Imagine how people would respond if they worded invitations in that way - "Please join us for an organised littering event in memory of X. Litter will be provided and your contribution to trashing the environment will be filmed to show your grandchildren."

Please sign the online petition to get this debated in parliament - link upthread.

[BeeRaven]

@ErrolTheDragon

As much as I agree with this thread, I just have to point out that it’s not the same kind of helium.

*@Strawberrypancakes* - I'm a chemist and you've lost me there, what can you mean by 'not the same kind of helium'. (I didn't think mri machines only use one specific isotope of helium, for instance, and the stuff in balloons sure as heck don't.)

Don't know if it's been address above, or to weigh in on the pros and cons of it's usage, but there are (i believe) 6 grades of helium.

The grades used for mri machines and microchip manufacturer are grade 6 and are liquid helium, supercooled and impurities removed. This is a costly process and therefore not done for helium used in party balloons which are obviously in gas form and less "pure"

[ErrolTheDragon]

• Don't know if it's been address above, or to weigh in on the pros and cons of it's usage, but there are (i believe) 6 grades of helium.
  
  The grades used for mri machines and microchip manufacturer are grade 6 and are liquid helium, supercooled and impurities removed. This is a costly process and therefore not done for helium used in party balloons which are obviously in gas form and less "pure"*
  
  Sure, but it's all starting as the same, finite, resource.

[BeeRaven]

Yeah, I'm not disputing that, and said i wasn't weighing in on whether it should be used or not, but just merely providing context in why the helium in balloons could possibly be considered a different "type" of helium as stated by strawberry that Errol queried

[Kamt]

@bettbattenburg

Biodegradable doesnt make a huge amount of difference. Most take many months to years to biodegrade (if at all), some require special circumstances eg wont biodegrade in the ocean as need to compost. The quickest advertised speed ive seen on an expensive eco balloon site is 6 months but testing has found some biodegradable are still present after 5 years. The time they are around in water ways etc would allow them to cause the same damage by ingestion, tangling around animals etc.

Its also worth noting in my experience its the string that is just as much of an issue, so the same would apply to needing biodegradable string, but there still being ample opportunity for the string to cause damage before it does so.

Here are some links about how biodegradable balloons are around for much longer than youd think

theconversation.com/we-composted-biodegradable-balloons-heres-what-we-found-after-16-weeks-138731

balloonsblow.org/latex-balloons-still-kill/

greencitizen.com/biodegradable-balloons/

[Inwiththenew]

Amazed at the fuss people are making about a few balloons compared to the astronomical amount of discarded PPE. Has anyone stopped to consider the scale of this before getting angry about balloons?

[Orcus]

@Inwiththenew

Amazed at the fuss people are making about a few balloons compared to the astronomical amount of discarded PPE. Has anyone stopped to consider the scale of this before getting angry about balloons?

I'm amazed that you felt the need to connect the two. That's some fairly advanced level whataboutery.

[ErrolTheDragon]

@Inwiththenew

Amazed at the fuss people are making about a few balloons compared to the astronomical amount of discarded PPE. Has anyone stopped to consider the scale of this before getting angry about balloons?

Two wrongs don't make a right, and balloons are completely unnecessary, unlike masks.

[Kamt]

I guess this seems like an easy thing to reduce/stop

I do look for ways to reduce my waste/ eco footprint in other ways however things like ppe are tricky. I agree there should be somethought into make ppe as ecofriendly as possible.

However We need ppe, we dont need balloon releases

[bettbattenburg]

[quote Kamt]@bettbattenburg

Biodegradable doesnt make a huge amount of difference. Most take many months to years to biodegrade (if at all), some require special circumstances eg wont biodegrade in the ocean as need to compost. The quickest advertised speed ive seen on an expensive eco balloon site is 6 months but testing has found some biodegradable are still present after 5 years. The time they are around in water ways etc would allow them to cause the same damage by ingestion, tangling around animals etc.

Its also worth noting in my experience its the string that is just as much of an issue, so the same would apply to needing biodegradable string, but there still being ample opportunity for the string to cause damage before it does so.

Here are some links about how biodegradable balloons are around for much longer than youd think

theconversation.com/we-composted-biodegradable-balloons-heres-what-we-found-after-16-weeks-138731

balloonsblow.org/latex-balloons-still-kill/

greencitizen.com/biodegradable-balloons/[/quote]
Thank you Kamt
In which I'm all for an all out ban (and won't be buying balloons for my DC's birthday next week, I was going to get some biodegradable ones.

[chrislilleyswig]

@Inwiththenew

Amazed at the fuss people are making about a few balloons compared to the astronomical amount of discarded PPE. Has anyone stopped to consider the scale of this before getting angry about balloons?

Two separate issues

Whataboutery pisses me off. It's not an adult argument

[Mamanyt]

@Inwiththenew

Amazed at the fuss people are making about a few balloons compared to the astronomical amount of discarded PPE. Has anyone stopped to consider the scale of this before getting angry about balloons?

The question was about balloons, not about PPE. I'm angry about all of it, but we're talking about balloons.

I'm in the USA (don't shoot me, I did NOT vote for him), and this is what we refer to as "whataboutism," deflecting from the main topic by making a comparison instead of addressing the issue at hand.

[BadlyDrawnSimpsonsCharacter]

Do people still do this!?

[TisConfusion]

There’s going to be a mass balloon release in a couple of days near to where I live - because a man was killed. I feel for the mans family it must be awful but I can’t understand how releasing a load of litter is a nice thing to do in someone’s memory. Loads of people have commented on Facebook to say please don’t release balloons, maybe plant a tree instead etc. And they’ve been met with a tonne of abuse and a load of “we’ve just lost our friend fuck off you loser” etc. You can’t reason with these people.