A petition in Queensland, Australia started by Tangalooma EcoMarines
Most balloons are made of Mylar (a plastic) or latex (synthetic or natural rubber). Balloon-makers like to recommend latex balloons as an eco-friendly solution, and say these balloons “degrade as quickly as an oak leaf.” What they don’t mention is that the study they’re quoting is non peer-reviewed, has never been replicated, and was actually written for and by the National Association of Balloon Artists, in the USA. The study also doesn’t mention that oak leaves degrade slowly. Latex may take 6 months or more to degrade – even more slowly in water! That’s a lot of time to drift around and pose hazards to our precious marine life.
Balloon debris also contributes to unsightly trash on our beaches and river edges. In the months after the flooding event of 2011, for example, hundreds of balloons (whole or in fragments) and plastic balloon tie-strings, were found washed up on the western side of Moreton Island, part of the trash from the South-East Queensland catchments.
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