The first thing you think when you see a balloon is ‘party’. Balloons are ubiquitous at kids parties and even on garden gates to indicate where the party is. At many memorials balloon releases are seen as a nice way to show respect to the recently departed. And the way the balloons gracefully ascend is beautiful, there’s no denying that. But balloons are really not great for the environment or for wildlife. Luckily there are eco-friendly alternatives to balloons available for all the ways balloons are currently used that aren’t harmful to wildlife or our planet.
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I’m going to start with balloon releases, move onto alternatives to balloon releases, talk about an alternative to using water balloons and finally what to use instead of balloons for party decorations.
Why balloon releases should be banned
Balloon releases should be banned in my opinion. Balloons used as party decorations are nearly as bad, but let’s start with why balloon releases should be banned and alternative balloon release ideas.
1. It’s littering
A balloon release is basically an accepted form of littering. If you threw a load of plastic onto the floor and left it there people would be rightly outraged and would possibly even approach you to ask you to pick up your litter. But when we release the litter into the sky it’s very easy to forget that it will all come down to earth at some point. And it’s not exactly easy, or appropriate, to approach a group of people who are releasing balloons to say goodbye to a recently departed loved one.
2. Balloons are harmful to wildlife
We’ve known for years that sea turtles can mistake a floating plastic bag for a jellyfish. Balloons can also look like a jellyfish to a sea turtle. If an animal eats a balloon it can cause internal blockages that can lead to starvation and death.
Even the string attached to the balloon can be dangerous to wildlife in a number of ways. The string can wrap itself round birds or dolphins and other marine life and they can become trapped or their movement severely restricted. The string can also cut into their skin which could lead to infections.
3. There’s a helium shortage
I’m quite amazed that party supply shops are still allowed to sell helium to fill balloons when there’s a limited supply available. Helium is an essential gas used in healthcare (for example MRI scanners), space exploration and other areas. Avoid helium filled balloons at all costs.
The 1986 Cleveland balloon release disaster
Cleveland was looking to rehabilitate its image. They decided to try and break the Guinness World record for the largest balloon release in the world. They released a massive almost 1.5 million balloons. Unfortunately the weather changed, and instead of the balloons floating away (to cause problems elsewhere), the majority of the balloons fell back down into Cleveland.
- The airport had to close because there were too many balloons on the runway.
- Car accidents happened due to the balloons causing visibility issues.
- Two fishermen died as a rescue helicopter couldn’t be launched to search for them due to the huge number of balloons in the sky. Additionally a boat rescue was made difficult because the water was filled with balloons making it hard to spot the men.
- Several horses were spooked and permanently injured.
- Canada was also affected – waterways were filled with the deflated balloons.
- Wildlife was harmed as the so-called biodegradable balloons choked many animals.
Thankfully due to the very negative press that this release had, they were not awarded the Guinness world record.
What are Balloons made of?
Latex – When you think of balloons you probably think of the classic latex balloon and latex is a natural material (sometimes).
Mylar – More commonly found these days are foil balloons which are often filled with helium. The material made to make shiny foil balloons is called mylar. Mylar is not recyclable with your everyday household rubbish and it’s not biodegradable.
Biodegradable Balloons
Is it possible to buy biodegradable balloons? It is, but latex balloons, even natural latex, don’t biodegrade easily, and they’re the most common type of balloon found in the stomachs of dead animals. So-called biodegradable balloons can still take many years to decompose, by which time they could have caused serious harm, or death, to any number of animals.
You might be able to recycle mylar balloons with Terracycle but in an ideal world you don’t buy balloons at all, they’re a waste of money and resources and there are plenty of alternatives available to balloon releases and using balloons as decorations.
Read what to do with your rubbish for more information.
What to do instead of a balloon release?
You have several options available, all of which are really nice alternatives to a standard balloon release. Here are some really lovely ideas.
Flying Wish papers – The premise of a balloon release is to ‘let go’ so if you want to release something into the sky then a much less harmful thing to do is to write down messages on wish paper and then set them alight. It’s a small amount of ash and the paper will float into the sky. (These are nothing like sky lanterns).
Floating Flowers – Another way to give you the sense of letting go is to send something down a river or into the sea. To be eco-friendly though you want to be using natural materials. A really beautiful thing to do is to send flowers or petals down the river.
Seedballs – If you really want to be eco-friendly give everyone some seedballs. When the flowers come up it’ll be a lovely reminder of your loved one.
Plant a tree – Or why not plant a tree in someones honour? It’s also a lovely place you can visit when you want to remember that person, and over the years the tree will provide life to birds and insects and other wildlife. A true circle of life feeling.
What about Water Balloons?
Be honest having water balloon fights as kids was fun! Of course playing with water pistols is an alternative, but water pistols are all made of plastic so they’re not great if you’re trying to create a plastic free home. Water pistols generally last longer than balloons at least and aren’t single use like a balloon used in a water balloon fight is, and you can buy water pistols made of recycled plastic which is better.
However, I’ve found a fantastic alternative to water balloons. They’re reusable and not made of plastic, so if you want to enjoy the fun of a ‘water balloon fight’ without creating litter check out this free crochet pattern or buy some on Etsy!
Eco-Friendly Alternatives to Balloons
As with balloon releases, using balloons as party decorations is just creating litter. If the balloons are just being used indoors, then as soon as they deflate they’ll end up in your bin and then in landfill, if you’re lucky. They could end up in the sea or in rivers but wherever they end up they’ll take years and years to decompose. However you can normally reuse eco-friendly alternatives for years to come.
You can buy the following eco-friendly alternatives to balloons at lots of party supply shops on the internet, but most of them are pretty simple to make. Not only that, making them is a great activity to do with children during or before a party. Make sure you buy eco-friendly craft materials for all your craft projects.
1. Bunting and Banners
You can either make paper or fabric bunting or banners, depending on how you want to use them and if you want to reuse them for another party. If you want to you can write (or sew) a message onto them. Get creative, bunting doesn’t always have to be identically sized triangles. Why not make dinosaur or train themed bunting if that’s what your child is in to?
2. Paper chains or Garlands
Paper chains are something I used to make every Christmas with my Mum and sister. They’re very easy to do and add a nice bit of colour to the room. Alternatively you could purchase some crepe hanging garlands if you don’t have time to make something yourself.
3. Streamers
Another eco-friendly alternative to balloons which is a bit more interactive than other decorations are streamers. They can either be used as decorations, or attach the streamer to a stick so the children can run around with them. These are also very easy to make and will get the children running around the garden getting a bit of exercise too!
4. Paper flowers
These will take you a bit longer to make depending on how many you make and which design you choose. Paper flowers can be used as table decorations or even hung from the wall or ceiling.
5. Pompoms
Probably a bit easier to make than paper flowers, for the children anyway, are paper or fabric pompoms (or tissue puffs). Just like balloons they add a splash of colour to the room and are extremely easy to make.
6. Pinwheels
Pinwheels are a lot more fun than a balloon as far as I’m concerned. They’re commonly found in party supply shops but are normally made of plastic. They’re surprisingly easy to make from a few paper materials such as paper straws and coloured paper. Here’s step by step instructions demonstrating how to make pinwheels. You can make larger ones for the garden as well.
7. Bubbles
Blowing bubbles is fun. I don’t know why, but it is! Find yourself some eco-friendly bubble solution and get blowing. You could even make the bubble solution yourself with eco-friendly washing up liquid, water and glycerin (you can use honey instead of glycerin). It’s best to mix it the night or morning before a party.
8. Kites
If you’re having an outdoor party you could provide kites. Even better why not get the kids to make them during the party? Read How to make a recycled paper kite.
As you can see there are plenty of eco-friendly alternatives to balloons that are just as, if not more, decorative. So many of them are a lot more fun too and if you say no to balloons you know you’re helping to protect wildlife and preventing littering! A win-win for you and the planet!
Instead of buying new materials to make any of the above decorations why not see what you can find around the house and repurpose something instead to be even more eco-friendly!
On a side note, sky lanterns are just as bad as balloons. Read why sky lanterns should be banned as well.
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Great guidance to the topic which I am thinking. I will go deeper on this for the next celebrations that I am going to do.
Its like you read my mind! You seem to know so much about this, like you wrote the book in it or something.
A great read. I will definitely be back.
Well thought out blog covering all aspects of waste creation. Many thanks
Good organization in your writing. I disagree where you say, “in an ideal world you don’t buy balloons at all, they’re a waste of money and resources.” Since everyone is the best judge of their money, I think that was an over-reach. For about 10 years, I can afford to give my baby one balloon on her birthday, but I will responsibly dispose of it, just as I realize everyone needs to be more careful about how they dispose of their used condoms and latex medical supplies, as well as strings and twine and ribbon, apparently. I think this means finely shredding those things so they don’t harm animals in the way you described. Terracycle recycles brand-specific items, and their box to do so costs $127 USD. People go through so many condoms each year and it turns out condoms are not safe. Everyone needs to know this!
Very interesting article. However, according to thepartycompany.co.uk, helium is not an issue. I wonder if you could check that out and put some references in your article to clarify:
“It’s important to be aware that there is a distinction between pure, liquid helium and impure, gaseous helium. Gas companies prioritise supplies of pure, liquid helium for critical medical uses e.g. MRI scanners in hospitals, ensuring that they can remain fully operational.
Helium for balloons is a different product – it is impure and gaseous and produced as a by-product of supplying liquid helium for the MRI market – a market which makes up about forty percent of the helium business in the UK. Impure, gaseous helium cannot be used directly in medical MRI scanners or in other applications that use super-conducting magnets. Impure helium can be recovered by the customer and reliquefied if the customer has the necessary plant on site, and if not, it can still be recovered and reprocessed for use in the balloon market.”
Hi Felicity, I got my information from scientific websites rather than pro-balloon websites, as I tend to believe they may be biassed. Here’s a good article about the helium shortage https://www.zmescience.com/feature-post/history-and-humanities/economics-articles/helium-shortage-geology-feature-08082020/