In my post back in 2011 about
balloon releases I did mention that you should only ever release latex balloons. I explained that these need to be released without any ribbons attached and have to be hand tied. The reason for this is that only latex balloons are biodegradeable and that ribbons and valves can cause pain and suffering to wildlife. Most balloon releases are to raise money for a charity or to bring awareness to some cause and should, as a matter of priority, be done in a safe and harmless way.
Perhaps however I didn't explain enough about why the balloons need to be latex and perhaps more importantly why foil balloons should never be released.
- Foil Balloons aren't biodegradeable
- Foil Balloons can cause power outages
In the image you can see how a balloon which ironically says "Thinking of You" is pictured laying on a beach. Hopefully the person who took the photo will have picked it up and disposed of it properly but there will be many more strewn across the landscape littering our beaches and countryside and posing as a threat to our wildlife. Was the person who owned this balloon thoughtless? Was it an accident? or, Did they just not know any better?
When I had my balloon shop I used to have people come in wanting to release foil balloons (usually hearts) in rememberance of a loved one. I then had to explain why they couldn't. The most distressing part was that many had done it in the past and having explained to the retailer why they were buying it they had not been advised of the possible consequences. Afterwards they always then accepted that releasing latex balloons was the way to go. Education is always the best way forward.
Yesterday I became aware that the London to Peterborough train line was down on Friday because a foil balloon had become entangled in the overhead power line. Services were suspended for 3 hours and a train had to be "diesel-hauled" (towed) all the way to London. All because someone let go of a foil balloon outside! In southern California it has been law for many years that all foil balloons have to be individually weighted after they were repeatedly affected by power cuts due to this very same thing. Although it wasn't law here in the UK our training involved the importance of not allowing foil balloons to be released outside and I'm sure that if you, or anyone you know, was trying to travel between Peterborough and London on Friday you will agree.
Foil balloons are fun, let's all use them responsibly so we can continue to enjoy them for many years to come without endangering wildlife or causing disruption to others.
If you want a foil balloon to float you need to fill it with helium but some foil balloons are too small to float even when filled with helium. These balloons are therefore intended to be filled with air and don't have the normal self-sealing valves that foil balloons intended for helium have so in order to stop the air escaping you have to heat seal them.
