Balloon Releases
What goes up must come down, but in the meantime a balloon can travel a long distance from its original location. Many find their way into the ocean where they can be a threat to marine life and seabirds, through entanglement and ingestion.
The problem with balloon releases
Balloon releases have become a popular tool at promotional events or to celebrate a wedding, birth or memorial but the effect on the wildlife can be detrimental.
People releasing balloons are usually not aware of the issue and
have no intention to do any harm. Education is needed to fill those gaps and to prevent future balloon releases. Many shires, councils and states have now put in legislation to protect the environment from balloon releases by law.
Weather balloons
The life of a weather balloon target is around 1.5 hours – when they reach a certain height, the balloon bursts and floats down to earth.
With the planet consisting of 70% water, many of these targets land in the ocean. Here, they start to break up into smaller pieces of balloon and polystyrene foam, and the batteries in the torches begin to leach out into the ocean, causing significant harm to marine life and ecosystems.
Tangaroa Blue volunteers from around the country are collecting data on weather balloon components. During a 2012 clean-up, we found over 3000 pieces of weather balloon targets at Chilli Beach in Cape York in just 5km of coastline!
To learn more, take a look at the source reduction plans below.
