AIBU to object to balloon and lantern memorial releases for environmental reasons ?

[Ihsk]

I do wish people would stop releasing balloons in tribute to lost loved ones.

Balloons don’t up to heaven. They travel a few miles and usually land in a farmer’s field. Where animals eat the balloon and get very ill or die.

This method is a cruel and other creatures can die.

Also still can get Chinese lanterns online. Anyone setting these off now are idiots. Forest fires

What an absolute bell end.

No, it’s not. It’s terrible for the butterflies. I thought this was well known.

I agree with a previous poster who said it was a chavvy thing to do

Is that why people are so judgy about them?

Or a lovely rose

People releasing balloons should be prosecuted for littering.

How about planing this.
www.roses.co.uk/product/780327/rose-always-in-our-thoughts-4l-pot-ngw?Media=PPCHRSGOOG&gclsrc=aw.ds&&source=HRGGPMPP10&utm_source=HRGGPMPP10&utm_medium=cpc&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=20954144320&gbraid=0AAAAABzPSgkmz0_lABOTn8NT4hHDXX9VM&gclid=CjwKCAjwvNfSBhBiEiwAyaGMCcusJAIJmsd6gxMq-kKDcOJ5Sv7f5h0D8_O0AaEm8ZaqjAzItonb1RoCiD4QAvD_BwE

Why do we need alternatives? It's all a bit performative.
How about the fireworks that those idiots set off at Dovestones? That went well didn't it?

Why not do something constructive to commemorate someone like planting a tree instead?

Plenty of good ideas for alternative, and useful information on this web site - Balloons Blow - Blowing bubbles is a good option if you want the feeling of something going up into the sky. Butterfly releases are sadly very bad for the butterflies.

We asked a lot of school children for their ideas and one of them was to write little messages on a leaf and then go to a windy place and let all the leaves be blown into nature by the breeze.

We liked that one.

Nice bit of whataboutery there.

It isn't going to bring them back.

Nobody can have loved their relative that much if they're prepared to harm wildlife and damage the environment in their memory.

It's a good way of spotting the hard of thinking, but hopefully they make it illegal soon.

One of my colleagues, younger than myself, passed away several years ago. At the end of her funeral service we were all given a small packet of seeds and asked to plant them in her memory as she had loved flowers.

Several of us got together and planted our seeds in a flower bed near the entrance to our office. It helps us all remember a very special colleague.

Obviously this isn't right or appropriate for everyone but there are so many different ways of remembering those who are no longer with us that enhance other peoples lives whilst bringing comfort to the bereaved

My own preference is to donate to the local hospice who are really struggling financially. I've been fortunate that none of my family have ever needed hospice care but that could change in the future and I've heard so many stories of the amazing care they give to dying people and their families & friends

I so admire bereaved people who run marathons or carry out sponsored events to raise money for charities in memory of their loved one ~ such a positive thing to do.

There is absolutely NO need to carry out 'memorials' that will damage the environment

You're the "I don't recycle anything" poster from yesterday's cake thread.

Being environmentally conscious just isn't your thing is it.

You have a plane?????

Kudos. 🙌

Plant bulbs, scatter wild flower seeds (local to area) though if you really want to release something you can release doves

@Bollihobswould you like a lift? It has air con!

So, one drunk driver 'doesn't matter' because they don't care about road safety?

One unvaccinated kid doesn't matter because their parents happen to be anti-vaxxers?

Dropping litter doesn't matter because you don't personally have to deal with the consequences?

Would your dead parents enjoy the thought that you're creating danger, litter and a hazard for wildlife? Maybe you should let them stay in your memories without creating problems for everyone else.

@RampantIvyits not whataboutery. My initial post said I can’t get worked up about it & then a poster replied accusing me of releasing balloons. I don’t think I can judge this, that’s all. I do judge log burners in London though but they are far more acceptable on MNs. I definitely think there is a class element involved.

I hope that when I shuffle off this mortal coil, if my loved ones feel the urge to remember me, feel close to me, or celebrate my life, they put a bit more effort into it than a cliche bloody balloon release. 🤣

Honestly, it has to be the most generic, lazy, copy and paste tribute going. It's so devoid of any personality that it almost feels more disrespectful than doing nothing at all. If you knew me well enough to mourn me, surely you can think of something that actually reflects who I was, rather than buying a pack of helium balloons because everyone else does.

Please do not release doves. It’s cruel.

https://www.pigeonrescue.org/faqs-2/why-dove-releases-are-cruel/

What a painful and embarassingly stupid argument to read.

Russia just needs to just get on with it now tbh.

In Southport we blew bubbles for Elsie, Alice and Bebe ❤️

I completed agree OP.

A 16 year old boy was stabbed in my town 3 years ago. His school friends released balloons at school with tags attached saying “Fly high!” and “Party hard up in heaven!” etc. The next day I spent ages over the fields picking up over 40 balloons and tags from the river, the trees and bushes. They didn’t fly high did they? They did more damage to the wildlife.

So many I couldn’t reach as they were high up in the trees where there were nesting birds, tangled around reeds in the river where we have swans, ducks and a breeding pair of otters.

Even at my children’s school when they left year 6 (over 7 years ago) the school released balloons. My sons both said no thanks as they were bad for the environment. Cows and horses choke on them, birds get tangled up in them and fish and river animals choke on them.

A farmer near us lost a barn full of cows one summer. A lit sky lantern landed on the roof and the whole thing burnt down. The ignorance of some people is just staggering. Those sky lanterns should be banned.