Stop releasing helium balloons in memory of

[Fiis]

Plus seen weddings, gender reveals etc with this too.

Balloons do not go to heaven. They float c. 50 miles, depending on wind conditions, then pop as hit a certain height.

The balloon remains fall to earth, usually in a field. Farm animals have eaten them and reports of them dying,

If you want to remember someone, do something permanent such as planting a tree, lighting candles at home etc

We have one of those as well near us! It was there when my husband and I moved into the area. The first time we saw it we said “Balloon!” and now 4 years later one of us will still say “Balloon” as we walk past it. It’s become a weird tradition now. No matter if we’re walking in silence or half way through a conversation one of us will say balloon. (Yes I know we’re a bit odd at times).

I'm guilty of being ignorant about this, so thank you for the info! How awful. Thankfully my helium balloon days are well over.

I must admit , years ago I used to love watching those Chinese Lanterns when they were released ( they were wire framed back then , but they changed that the bamboo ) but they have disappeared now into the mists of time ...to be replaced by bloody fireworks .
I like fireworks but only at NYE and GuyFawkes Night ( they also have Diwali firewrorks so they go on a week or so) , but really they should be limited

Mumsnet is on a different planet at times. I get the concerns around these things, I really do before someone tries being patronising and repeating what has already been said. But the vast majority of people release balloons, set off fireworks or go to firework displays. If they didn’t then there wouldn’t be balloon and firework shops on nearly every high street. Every party seems to be littered with helium balloons. You would not get a good reaction from people around here if you complained about balloons when teenagers release them in memory of friends etc, honestly you’d be community villain number 1. I do think they are here to stay unless laws prevent people from doing so.

Same goes for leaving flowers where somebody has died. At least take the cellophane off!

Fireworks should only be sold to organisations who are putting on a display.

Not to the general public

Also those lanterns, they cause fires.

And if you leave flowers on a grave (or other memorial) please remove all plastic and tie with traditional string which is biodegradable

A 16yr old was killed in my town 2 years ago. His school released balloons with his name on. For days I found them over the fields where I walk my dog. They were floating in the river (we have lots of birds who nest there), stuck high up and tangled in trees. I collected around 25 of them but couldn’t get to them all. They all had labels saying things like fly high. I really wanted to ring the school and tell them how irresponsible they’d been.

There are laws.

Littering is a punishable offence. There are few such brazen acts of deliberate littering.

I would like to see a couple of well publicised prosecutions. Shouldn’t be hard, people are keen to post the evidence of themselves on SM.

You must live in a bubble. They make it to farms all the time.

Then the ‘majority’ of people are selfish idiots who put their own needs before the lives of other living creatures.

Releasing balloons as a way to mourn/grieve/remember a person is just performative nonsense for the photo and video opportunities.

Yes to anything like this- what goes up comes down indiscriminately- setting houses on fire when trapped in gutters, plastic and wire being ingested by animals. People are so thoughtless

Then the ‘majority’ of people are selfish idiots who put their own needs before the lives of other living creatures.
Releasing balloons as a way to mourn/grieve/remember a person is just performative nonsense for the photo and video opportunities.

Exactly.

Do you live rurally? I do and see this shite in hedges, woods, ditches, fields regularly.

A friend’s horse was badly burned when one of those ridiculous lanterns was let off at a wedding and landed on the sleeping horse.

A farmer posted about dead lamb just a few weeks ago, ate some balloons.

Yea the world maybe full of plastic crap, but now we know better, we should do better. Surely?

I wish you had delivered them back to the school, it would have been a big wake up call for them. Well done for picking them up though.

Our wildlife is in such trouble we just can't risk these pointless deaths.

Where do you live? There’s no firework or balloon shops where I am, balloons are sold in party shops or by people creating balloon displays but they’re for party decorations and people don’t release them. I only really see fireworks sold around fireworks night and Diwali.

Do you think being given a pile of balloons would be a big wake up call? Hard to imagine.
plus there's the whole thing of them just having lost a young member of the school community in tragic circumstances.

I've been in my job 10 years. There is a big oak tree outside of my office and every winter when the leaves fall it reveals a bunch of foil balloons wrapped around a branch. For 10 years. Terrible and I agree wholeheartedly with you OP. It's a terrible, destructive habit and for no purpose at all other than performative.

I do yes.

Losing a child under any circumstances is a total tragedy, but a totally different issue to a type of litter that kills wildlife being released on scale.

Doves, persuade her to release doves. Beautiful white birds who soar into the sky, far more likely to reach heaven than metallic shit

Or just remember someone in your own memories.

You should maybe do some reading on how the shortage of helium will affect us as humans. Do you even know that it is used in scanners that help to diagnose life threatening disease.
As for thinking these balloons won't reach farms, really? Where do you think they end up. There are farms all over the country.
This is one of the most uneducated posts I've seen on here in long time which really is saying something.

Not just helium balloons either.
No high profile/unexplained/tragic circumstance death is complete without a gathering and releasing in front of the local and national media.

There's an event coming up at work which is likely to involve a stupid balloon arch which is going to set my teeth on absolute edge. I've come to hate the ruddy things as much as I hate fireworks. No point raising it with the genius behind it though, they're utterly stuck in the early 2000s. Just wish we could send them back there along with their stupid marketing ideas.