Coalition Against Releasing Balloons in Ohio

Here's a report from a great volunteer effort:

New Report: Vast Majority of Great Lakes Litter is Plastic - Alliance for the Great Lakes CHICAGO, IL (April 11, 2024) – Eighty six percent of litter collected on Great Lakes beaches is composed either partially or fully of plastic, according to a new report released […]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiRnJLp7PG4

Proposed balloon release legislation moving through Florida There is now a statewide effort to stop the intentional release of balloons into the sky and out into the environment after South Florida groups spoke up abo...

Great news! Finally!

How a Florida balloon release ban could curb plastic pollution At least 10 states have banned balloon releases, citing the plastic pollution caused by the deflated balloons.

This should have happened years ago, but finally...

Florida Bans Intentional Balloon Releases Today, Florida House lawmakers passed House Bill 321, which bans the intentional release of balloons and classifies released balloons as litter. Yesterday, the Senate passed the bill, which will go into effect July 1, 2024. The bill passed both chambers with overwhelming bipartisan support and will...

Cleveland Public Power doesn't bother to mention the city's law against balloon releases, but here is their Valentine's Day message.

As you shop for Valentine's Day this weekend, remember Mylar balloons are a hazard to power lines. Let's not cause blackouts, this holiday.

Share: Littering is not an acceptable way to honor a deceased loved one.

Environmentally-Friendly Alternatives - Balloons Blow Instead of littering the planet by letting balloons go, you can instead have fun, celebrate, and remember with environmentally-friendly alternatives.

Cleveland's law against releasing balloons is nearly 2 years old, yet how many citizens are aware of it? The city has done nothing to educate the public about the littering ordinance. https://www.sierraclub.org/ohio/blog/2022/03/cleveland-city-council-passes-balloon-release-ban #:~:text=March%208%2C%202022,citation%20and%20a%20%24150%20fine.

Balloons caused 110 of First Energy's power outages last year.

FirstEnergy urges customers not to release balloons after power outage in Cleveland neighborhood FirstEnergy Spokesperson Hannah Catlett says around Valentine’s Day, FirstEnergy sees a dramatic increase in power outages because of helium-filled metallic balloons.

Don't release balloons!

Great news! Ohio needs to follow suit.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/feb/23/california-laguna-beach-bans-balloons-ocean

US beach town bans balloons to save the ocean Experts say more cities should join the growing legislative trend to reduce trash, save birds and protect against wildfires

Please contact the New York Times to object to its Vertex game today. Glorifying balloon releases is absolutely the wrong message to send on this New Year's Eve. We all should be appalled at the ignorance this drawing reveals, coming from the country's largest news provider. Please send a short note to [email protected].

Here is what I wrote: The NYT owes its readers a front-page story on why balloon releases are terrible! They are not something to be glorified in a Vertex game on New Year's Eve. Balloons torture and kill wildlife and pollute our land and water. (Do your research.) What a shame that Mr. Voshell was not aware of the harm his drawing encouraged, under the title Up at Midnight. He practically told people to release balloons, when we should be hearing the opposite from the country's flagship news provider.

https://www.caryinstitute.org/news-insights/feature/helium-balloons-impose-toll-our-air-land-and-sea

Helium balloons impose a toll on our air, land, and sea Most of us have seen helium balloons gently float into the sky, whether by accident or intentional release. Watching a balloon disappear into the clouds can feel almost tranquil. But what goes up must come down, with serious impacts on the environment.

Whilst walking on the beach found this is the seaweed. Why are balloons still a thing? Why are we letting them go? At our cleanup last weekend we noticed a couple of parties being set up and both had balloons. There are signs that clearly state...”No Balloons”. Much to our pleasure the park ranger came and had both parties remove the balloons. We were so happy to see this. Please forgo the balloons and if you or your kid does have one…never let them go!

Trev Alberts says Husker football will end balloon release Nebraska's athletic director said it has been "challenging" to acquire helium for the balloons.

https://www.cnn.com/videos/us/2022/05/11/miami-dade-boat-crew-balloons-ocean-orig-jc.cnn/video/playlists/atv-trending-videos/

Police arrest suspect after video of boat crew goes viral - CNN Video Miami-Dade Police arrested a man after a controversial video was posted on social media showing a boat crew popping balloons and dumping them into a marina.

Bad news about the Cleveland Police Department and Channel 5 news: Yesterday, News 5, publicized a planned balloon release in memory of a child who got hit by a car. The news anchor made no mention of the fact that Cleveland recently banned balloon releases of 10 or more balloons. I emailed the news desk to inform them of that and to get contact information for the organizer of the event. I received no response. I called the police department's dispatchers to inform them of the event so that an officer could talk to the participants and explain the law. Nothing was done. The illegal balloon release occurred yesterday evening on Bohn Road, and News 5 aired it this morning! Just because a law is on the books, doesn't mean progress occurs. Please call the Cleveland police chief's office at 216-623-5005 and request that officers and dispatchers be made aware of and enforce the balloon ban. Thank you! (unrelated photo attached, but you get the picture)

https://fox59.com/news/indy-500/ims-indy-500-balloon-release-paused-indefinitely/

IMS: Indy 500 balloon release paused ‘indefinitely’ INDIANAPOLIS — There will be no balloon release at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway during the 106th running of the Indianapolis 500. The move was confirmed by both IMS president Doug Boles an…

While there is not a specific statute prohibiting the release of balloons, it would fall under our more general litter rules. Ohio Rev. Code Section 1531.29 which prohibits polluting state land or water, and Ohio Rev. Code Section 3767.32 which prohibits littering on public property or in or on waters of the state.

Natural Resource Officers could stop a balloon release or issue a citation under these statutes.

OAC 1501:46-5 is the Division of Parks & Watercraft’s permitting code for special events at state parks. We would not issue a permit for an event that seeks to release balloons because it would endanger the environment.

Sarah Wickham
Chief of Communications
Ohio Department of Natural Resources

Ohio Department of Natural Resources | Ohio.gov A department of incredible diversity, ODNR owns and manages more than 800,000 acres of land, including 75 state parks, 24 state forests, 140 state nature preserves, and 150 wildlife areas.

https://www.wildlifewatch.org.uk/problem-balloons

The problem with balloons | Wildlife Watch Balloon releases are disastrous for wildlife. Here's why to avoid them and some great eco-alternatives to balloons!

https://issuu.com/nae-straw-at-aw/docs/pretty_deadly

Pretty deadly Our campaign spun off from the work we had done on plastic pollution in the oceans. It further developed the ‘Don’t Let It Go!’ work our infants had started last year

https://www.peta.org/teachkind/humane-classroom/teach-students-about-harmful-balloon-releases/

Teach Students Why Balloons Are Harmful to the Environment - PETA Inform your students, colleagues, and administration about the consequences of releasing balloons into the environment, including the harmful effects on animals.

Sign the Petition Ban balloon releases in Ohio, and beyond...balloons kill and pollute

No Balloon Release Australia To promote a petition to the Australian Parliament, requesting a ban on the release of any number of balloons, and a ban on the use of helium to inflate.

Celebrate Earth Day by helping to stop balloon litter...

Here's What Really Happens When You Let Go Of A Balloon It's a major trend — but can be deadly to animals.

There are so many beautiful alternatives to releasing deadly balloons.

Someone had a happy birthday.
Now others may not.

Balloons are made of plastic. They do not rot away. They get mistaken as food by marine species. They entangle. They photo-degrade into smaller pieces that attract toxins and build up in the food web upon which we humans also depend.

What to do? Realize that and that, despite best intentions, having them at an event near the beach is likely to cause plastic pollution. Consider alternatives that have the same fun without the same potential environmental impacts. Help ban balloon releases. Help educate others because this is a solid example of where it is not malicious intent that leads to the pollution. To that end, please check out our campaign for the many ways that everyday choices lead to everyday solutions. www.mersociety.org/plastic_ingestion

See the "Dive Deeper" section for environmentally-friendly alternatives to balloons.
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With thanks to Angela Bacon for the photo and cleaning up other balloons that "escaped".

Balloons Blow

✍️ Sign the NSW Parliament e-Petition and demand a ban on balloon releases today!