Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU to beg for no more balloon releases

286 replies

Newspeaker · 27/05/2023 08:49

Why is it that at the times of the worst tragedy so many people still think it is OK to release dangerous litter into the sky? Surely in every group who plan these events there will be at least one person who understands the implications and can push for an alternative?
That's it really. Don't tell me people need to grieve - there are plenty of other ways to signal your grief, if you feel the need to do that. Does anyone want the memorial to their loved one be tainted by - just one real life example - a dead donkey foal with a balloon and the string in her gut? It seems particularly ironic that our young people can be so vocal about environmental issues, and yet they still flock to buy the balloons and take part in these releases.
It just breaks my heart to see this, knowing that the odds are some animals will suffer or die from our thoughtlessness, and yet again the land will be littered.

Any time someone posts about this they get accused of bad timing and insensitivity. Caring about our environment and feeling deep sadness for tragic losses aren't mutually exclusive. We have to find some time to speak up, because however much we do, it still happens.

OP posts:
Thread gallery
7
Whinge · 27/05/2023 12:14

He would’ve hated the idea of littering being a way to commemorate his life.

So instead of littering with balloons, you littered with an alternative that's also a fire risk?

Why did the family need to commemorate his life by releasing anything? Why not do a litter pick in his memory?

HoldingTheDoor · 27/05/2023 12:14

www.rspca.org.uk/adviceandwelfare/litter/skylanterns

Paper lanterns are a fire hazard
Sky lanterns can cause fires, as they use an open flame to float. This could destroy habitats and set animal housing, feed and bedding alight.
The fire risk is higher during the dry summer months, as it's easier for grass and the countryside to catch fire.
Biodegradable lanterns aren't a safe alternative
Don't be fooled into thinking that 'biodegradable' paper lanterns are safe. Materials like bamboo can still take decades to degrade and there's still a fire risk.

SDTGisAnEvilWolefGenius · 27/05/2023 12:14

SunnySaturdayMorning · 27/05/2023 08:56

You can beg all you like. I’m still going to do it.

Perhaps you could do something else instead, @SunnySaturdayMorning - maybe plant a tree or bush - that way you could come back and visit this memorial to a loved one, and watch it grow and flourish, and your memorial would be a positive thing for the environment.

Original poster
Newspeaker · 27/05/2023 12:15

Sadly, one of the disintegrating elements in Chinese lanterns is almost always bamboo. It still takes years to go, and if it's shattered will do a lot of damage to an animal that chews on it. Like chewing on a needle. Not to mention the field and barn fires that get started by Chinese lanterns. They are banned in some areas of the UK.

OP posts:
Somanycats · 27/05/2023 12:17

Who the hell would want their dead son's legacy to be killing a loads of distant animals?

MissFancyDay · 27/05/2023 12:18

HoldingTheDoor · 27/05/2023 11:53

But what is wrong with the little kits where you get a tiny amount of caterpillars, and release the adult butterflies when they are hatched? There are only about 5 butterflies and they are native species. Which is what the poster above was referring to

i already covered that by posting a quote from the article earlier .

"Even if you were to use native species, if they are captively bred, you are potentially affecting the gene pool and you are also releasing diseases and pathogens into the wild population."

That quote is referring to a mass release of hundreds of butterflies not the tiny kits to educate children. I don't intend to buy one , I'm old, I'm just curious.

WheresMyAlex · 27/05/2023 12:18

You’re absolutely right, i couldn’t stop it happening as the family were organising it, but managed to persuade them for something that I felt was, whilst still imperfect, a better option. I wouldn’t have done it at all if I was making the decision.

HoldingTheDoor · 27/05/2023 12:19

That quote is referring to a mass release of hundreds of butterflies not the tiny kits to educate children. I don't intend to buy one , I'm old, I'm just curious.

Yes but obviously you can still release diseased individuals into the wild whether you are releasing 5 or 500.

HoldingTheDoor · 27/05/2023 12:21

The odds are obviously higher with mass releases but either way you could still change the gene pool to their detriment and accidentally release pathogens into the general population.

HoldingTheDoor · 27/05/2023 12:22

I'm failing to see a flying fire hazard as a better option personally.

HoldingTheDoor · 27/05/2023 12:26

This is what happened to a zoo in Germany thanks to fire lanterns.

www.newyorker.com/science/elements/the-night-the-zoo-burned

HoldingTheDoor · 27/05/2023 12:26

X post.

MissFancyDay · 27/05/2023 12:27

HoldingTheDoor · 27/05/2023 12:21

The odds are obviously higher with mass releases but either way you could still change the gene pool to their detriment and accidentally release pathogens into the general population.

We'll just have to disagree about that, but large butterfly and dove releases are hideous.

Nicecow · 27/05/2023 12:27

drpet49 · 27/05/2023 09:17

I agree, I mean why you would want a memorial at the place your loved on died. It’s bizarre

Show quote history

You might feel differently if someone you loved was tragically killed in this way. I don't really see how much more litter this would actually create compared to all the waste the people just on this thread probably put into a landfill each year. Quite hypocritical really.

HoldingTheDoor · 27/05/2023 12:29

We'll just have to disagree about that, but large butterfly and dove releases are hideous.

You disagree that it's possible to release fungi, bacteria and other pathogens into the wild from small releases. It certainly is.

You are right about the latter though.

Frogmila · 27/05/2023 12:31

Chasingadvice · 27/05/2023 08:59

I don't like them either but begging on mumsnet isn't going to do anything.

Why? People might read it who weren't aware of the risks and now think twice. Lobbying for a ban is one approach but raising awareness also can be effective

HoldingTheDoor · 27/05/2023 12:31

You might feel differently if someone you loved was tragically killed in this way.

Or we might not. My uncle died in a car crash at 17. For some reason we didn't feel the need to litter the local area and potentially choke and strangle farm animals and wildlife to death to make us feel better about it. But regardless I think it should be made illegal then the onus isn't on the bereaved to think about the consequences of balloon releases.

Original poster
Newspeaker · 27/05/2023 12:31

Personally I wouldn't want a load dying flowers and rotting teddy bears to be a lasting feature beside the road where I had an accident. What might be nice would be for drivers to see, over the years, a lovely load of native wild flowers and just wonder why/how they came to be in that spot.

OP posts:
Nicecow · 27/05/2023 12:34

Newspeaker · 27/05/2023 12:31

Personally I wouldn't want a load dying flowers and rotting teddy bears to be a lasting feature beside the road where I had an accident. What might be nice would be for drivers to see, over the years, a lovely load of native wild flowers and just wonder why/how they came to be in that spot.

I can honestly say I've not ever seen a load of rotting teddy bears, only flowers which are a natural part of the environment so I don't see what the issue is

HoldingTheDoor · 27/05/2023 12:36

They usually leave the flowers wrapped in plastic. If they'd remove that it wouldn't be nearly so bad.

WowIlikereallyhateyou · 27/05/2023 12:37

Everydayimhuffling · 27/05/2023 09:12

I actually think helium balloons should be banned completely. Helium is an important medical supply and it's absolutely bananas that we throw away huge amounts on balloons all the time.

Absolutely agree.

WowIlikereallyhateyou · 27/05/2023 12:40

I also do not understand with regard to the roadside tributes why people want to remember people at such a tragic time in their life ie at an accident site. Surely remembering people when they were well and in a place they loved is more appropriate ,but hey we are all different. All of these things balloons, toys, plastic, all should be cleared as littering.

Shade17 · 27/05/2023 12:44

Anyone releasing balloons should be prosecuted under existing littering laws.

Nicecow · 27/05/2023 12:45

WowIlikereallyhateyou · 27/05/2023 12:40

I also do not understand with regard to the roadside tributes why people want to remember people at such a tragic time in their life ie at an accident site. Surely remembering people when they were well and in a place they loved is more appropriate ,but hey we are all different. All of these things balloons, toys, plastic, all should be cleared as littering.

Anyone who has children or pets are causing far more harm to the environment than someone leaving a bunch of flowers where someone died, such virtue signalling from many posters