Don’t Let Them Go!

…That’s the message we’re trying to get out. When we first started cleaning Florida’s beaches over 15 years ago, my sister and I, along with our parents, would never find balloons. As the years went on we would find a few more here and there. Now, both in our early 20’s, we continue our weekly beach cleanups and every year we find more and more balloons. Of course there is much more plastic than ever as well, but the disturbing thing about balloon pollution is that it is “celebrating by littering”. We collected over a thousand balloons in 2011. This year’s count so far is already over 200. Although the Mylar balloons are more visible, we find many more latex balloons. It is very alarming, the amounts of trash that gets washed ashore on our beaches, but it is particularly troubling that people are purposely littering with balloons to celebrate, to honor the dead, or to just mindlessly watch it float away. This is the reason we have created www.BalloonsBlow.org, a website dedicated to educating people about the danger and destruction that releasing balloons can cause. There are countless websites and Facebook pages promoting balloon releases. The balloon sellers try to convince people that latex balloons are “environmentally-friendly” and that they are “biodegradable” and harmless, but we show proof, that is not true. There are laws concerning balloon releases in several states in the U.S. and many countries around the world, yet many unknowing celebrators, grieving groups, and others, are arranging balloon releases worldwide. Honoring a loved one or celebrating by littering (litter that can entangle and kill wildlife) is ridiculous and should be banned altogether. People need to get creative and earth-friendly with their celebrations, and we will keep trying to get the word out that: Balloons Blow…Don’t Let Them Go!