What goes up, must come down: balloon litter edition

October 5, 2021

Today's guest blog is from Lauren Obermeyer, NYSDEC Summer Intern, Division of Materials Management

You may remember a time when you accidentally let a balloon go outside. You were probably sad to see it go, but there’s no dark abyss that it goes into. What goes up, must come down. Balloon releasing is gaining popularity when celebrating or remembering loved ones. What participants don’t realize is that once these balloons are released and you can’t see them anymore, they inevitably deflate and return to Earth. 

An out of sight, out of mind attitude is harmful when it comes to how the environment, as well as others, are affected. Wildlife can ingest these balloons, get tangled in the ribbons, and the balloons can even hit power lines becoming a fire hazard. The plastic balloons also slowly degrade, but never biodegrade once they hit the ground. The macroplastics break down into microplastics that find their way into wildlife, vegetation, and even humans! This is not only a continental wildlife issue, but an aquatic wildlife issue, environmental and human health issue.

How wildlife is affected

Balloons can travel hundreds or even thousands of miles away from where they were released. This means that balloons released in the Northeastern United States can reach pristine wildlife areas all around the region, as well as around the country, and even other countries. This also means that terrestrial and freshwater wildlife are exposed to balloon litter. In addition, balloons can reach oceans. The Northeastern United States region meets the Atlantic Ocean where diverse marine life resides. Balloons released in this region can negatively affect marine life in the Atlantic such as turtles, whales, fish, birds, sharks, and nearly every aquatic species in the ocean. Animals get tangled in the ribbons and can mistake the litter for food. The plastic gets stuck in their digestive tract which can lead to starvation and even death. The study, “Quantification and Source Identification of Microplastic Pollution” done at Cornell University by the NYS Water Resources Institute, states that fish and oysters that consume microplastics experience “physical harm to the organism through false satiation, starvation, or choking, as well as introducing the contaminants into the food chain (Watkins et al.).” This causes an increase in extinct and endangered species with a decrease in biodiversity, which leads to unstable ecosystems.

Sea turtles confuse balloons for jellyfish, so they often get tangled in them.

Health issues

The plastic litter cannot biodegrade, so it degrades into microscopic pieces of plastic. These microplastics bioaccumulate in wildlife, increasing in concentrations as the food chain progresses. This causes health issues for wildlife and is a significant factor in current species’ declining population rates (Roman et al.). This also means that people who eat marine and terrestrial animals can ingest microplastics. According to the articles,  “You’re literally eating microplastics. How you can cut down exposure to them.” and “The Health Impacts of Microplastics” scientists suggest that living things that ingest microplastics are at risk for DNA damage, intestinal damage, cancer, decreased fertility, obesity, brain damage, and in extreme cases, even death. A recent study, “Plasticenta: First evidence of microplastics in human placenta”, states that “microplastics have been discovered in the placentas of healthy women who experienced normal pregnancies and births (Ragusa et al.).” This shows just how far microplastics can reach, and why we should do everything we can to decrease the number of plastics we use. As released balloons are destined to be littered, they significantly increase human and wildlife exposure to plastics. 

Preventing balloon litter

NYSDEC Fish and Wildlife Technician Briana All started picking up balloon litter she saw out in the field and brings attention to the balloon litter issue through capturing her findings. Briana expresses, “I’m hoping that by collecting these balloons we find in the woods and putting them on display, people will realize that when they release balloons they are littering. There is only one place these balloons will end up– back on the ground or water far from where they originated.” 

Areas in the NERC region that regulate balloon use:

• Releasing balloons in Maine, Connecticut, and Rhode Island is banned
• The release of sky lanterns is banned in New Hampshire
• Wicomico County, Maryland banned release of balloons
• Provincetown, Massachusetts banned helium filled balloons
• Nantucket, Massachusetts banned any balloon to be filled with any gas that’s lighter than air
• Atlantic City and Ventnor, New Jersey banned the release of balloons
• Block Island, Rhode Island banned the intentional release of balloons
• In New York State, “Suffolk County will follow East Hampton and Southampton Towns with the ban, which means that county residents will no longer be able to release up to 25 balloons every 24 hours, as they’ve been able to so far (Finn).”

NERC states in the process of regulating balloon use:

• New York State has a bill that has not become law yet that would ban the release of certain balloons
• Vermont has a bill that would ban intentional release of balloons
• Maryland has a bill that would ban balloon releasing that passed their House of Delegates
• Delaware constructed a bill that needs to be signed by the governor that bans balloon releasing
• Massachusetts also is considering banning release of balloons
• New Hampshire is considering banning balloons filled with gas that’s lighter than air

What you can do

• Consider alternative activities like writing notes, planting trees or flowers, ringing bells, using paper or fabric garlands, or bubbles 
• Make sure your balloons are tied down tightly 
• Dispose of balloons properly in the trash, as balloons do not belong in the recycling bin 

Balloon littering is an important issue for DEC’s Division of Materials Management staff. We raise awareness on the issue through social media, newsletters, and in-person events when possible. And the issue of balloon littering is only gaining traction. The Chronicle Express even published an article written by DEC staff on balloon litter. Stay updated on our progress by following our NYSDEC social media pages and website. For more information on balloon releases, the negative environmental impacts they cause, and how you can help, visit https://balloonsblow.org/. Balloons are just one type of plastic that pollute our outdoor spaces. Implement sustainable practices by cutting down on the number of single-use plastics you use each day.

Sources

“Balloon Laws.” Balloons Blow, balloonsblow.org/balloon-laws/.

BALLOON RELEASES. Plastic Free Delaware. (2021, June 30). https://plasticfreedelaware.org/balloons.

Belmore, Ryan M. “General Assembly Approves Ban on Intentional Release of Balloons.” What's Up Newp, 1 July 2021, whatsupnewp.com/2021/07/general-assembly-approves-ban-on-intentional-release-of-balloons/. 

Consumer Reports. “You're Literally Eating Microplastics. How You Can Cut down Exposure to Them.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 7 Oct. 2019, www.washingtonpost.com/health/youre-literally-eating-microplastics-how-you-can-cut-down-exposure-to-them/2019/10/04/22ebdfb6-e17a-11e9-8dc8-498eabc129a0_story.html.

“CVW Balloon Release Legislation.” Clean Virginia Waterways, www.longwood.edu/cleanva/balloonlaws.htm. 

Finn, Lisa. “A New York County Joins Two Towns That Ban the Intentional Release of Balloons.” EnviroPolitics, 9 Sept. 2019, enviropolitics.com/three-new-york-counties-now-ban-intentional-release-of-balloons/#:~:text=Suffolk%20County%20will%20follow%20East%20Hampton%20and%20Southampton,hours%2C%20as%20they%E2%80%99ve%20been%20able%20to%20so%20far. 

Hill, Andrew. “The Health Impacts of Microplastics.” Because Health, 1 Dec. 2020, www.becausehealth.org/microplastics-2648448055.html. 

Kaye, Kemberlee. “Massachusetts Lawmakers Consider Banning Balloons.” Legal Insurrection, 16 Oct. 2019, www.mainepublic.org/environment-and-outdoors/2021-07-01/new-maine-law-bans-intentional-release-of-balloons.

“Rhode Island Bans Large Balloon Releases to Protect Wildlife.” WPRI.com, WPRI.com, 10 July 2021, www.wpri.com/news/politics/rhode-island-bans-large-balloon-releases-to-protect-wildlife/#:~:text=PROVIDENCE%2C%20R.I.%20%28AP%29%20%E2%80%94%20Rhode%20Island%20has%20banned,intentionally%20releasing%2010%20or%20more%20helium%20balloons%20outdoors.

Roman, L., Butcher, R. G., Stewart, D., Hunter, S., Jolly, M., Kowalski, P., Hardesty, B. D., & Lenting, B. (2020, December 21). Plastic ingestion is an underestimated cause of death for southern hemisphere albatrosses. Society for Conservation Biology. https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/conl.12785.

 Vermont State, Legislature. H.69. Vermont Legislature, https://legislature.vermont.gov/Documents/2022/Docs/BILLS/H-0069/H-0069%20As%20Introduced.pdf

Walter, Todd, et al. “Quantification and Source Identification of Microplastic Pollution.” Cornell.edu, 2017, wri.cals.cornell.edu/sites/wri.cals.cornell.edu/files/shared/documents/2017_Watkins_Final.pdf.

Disclaimer: Guest blogs represent the opinion of the writers and may not reflect the policy or position of the Northeast Recycling Council, Inc.