The Marine Conservation Society Just Don't Let Go Campaign
The Marine Conservation are running a campaign called "Don't Let Go". It is about raising awareness of the dangers to our environment and wildlife from balloon and sky lantern releases.
We all know throwing rubbish on the ground is an act of littering and can mean a fine, but letting a balloon or sky lantern go isn’t classed as littering...even though what goes up will eventually fall back to Earth...and balloons do in their thousands every year!
The Marine Conservation Society (MCS) has evidence that balloons and lanterns end up as litter in our seas and on our beaches – litter that can be eaten by marine life or can entangle sea creatures like turtles or sea birds often resulting in death by choking, starvation or strangulation.
A whopping 1,359 bits of balloon litter were found during Beachwatch Big Weekend 2011.
MCS Beachwatch Big Weekend beach litter surveys have shown an increase in balloon litter levels since they started recording them in 1996. In fact, the average number of balloons and balloon pieces found on UK beaches were three times as much in 2011 compared to 1996.
Balloon facts
• The main types of balloons are latex (rubber) and foil (also known as mylar).
• The majority of balloons used in intentional releases are latex, also known as biodegradable balloons – but even they can take several months, if not years, to break down.
• Because of the threat posed to wildlife by balloons, releases have been banned by over 20 local authorities in the UK.
• Helium - the gas used to fill balloons for releases - is running out...even more reason to conserve what stocks we have left and not waste it on a few seconds of enjoyment. Helium is used to purge rocket engines for NASA and the military. It is crucial for diving equipment, particle accelerators, and MRI scanners.
• The International Coastal Clean-up (which has involved millions of volunteers in over 150 countries cleaning beaches and rivers) revealed that 1,248,892 balloon litter items have been recorded washed up on beaches over the last 25 years.
• 10% of balloons that are released, and that don’t burst, still return to earth or sea intact or partially inflated where they pose a serious threat to wildlife.
• Balloons can be transported long distances by air currents and can easily be blown thousands of miles from their release point.
• Balloons can be transported long distances by air currents and can easily be blown thousands of miles from their release point. Balloons released in Cardiff were found in Germany.
Sky lantern facts
• The metal sky lantern frame is dangerous to wildlife and poses an entanglement threat.
• Livestock are being killed from eating degraded lanterns which are accidentally picked up by harvest machinery and put into winter feeds. In 2010 it was reported that a Cheshire farmer lost one of his pedigree cattle worth £1,000 after it died from eating the wire frame from a lantern.
• Lanterns also pose a fire hazard to crops in summer months and to thatched roof properties.
• Lanterns floating over the sea have been mistaken for distress flares and resulted in false alarm call outs of coastguard staff.
• It is illegal to launch a sky lantern in most parts of Germany, and in Austria it is illegal to produce, sell, import them, or to distribute them.
• A permanent ban on sky lanterns that “rely on an open flame to heat the air inside the lantern” was made in Australia on 1 February 2011.
• The release of sky lanterns has also been banned in Malta, Vietnam and most recently Spain.
As you might be aware a number of councils across the UK have banned balloon and sky lantern releases on their land.
For more information download the Marine Conservation Society booklet on the Don't Let Go campaign;
