Polluting the environment, harming animals...Balloons are banned in some parts of the United States
Beijing, September 2, according to foreign media reported on the 1st, in order to reduce plastic pollution, many countries have banned disposable products such as plastic bags, disposable tableware, straws or cotton swabs. Recently, some parts of the United States have begun to set limits on another common disposable plastic products - balloons.
According to reports, recently, in the eastern shore of Maryland, the enthusiastic environmental protection citizen Falstad (JayFalstad) picked up a deflated balloon on the lake. It is believed that the balloon came from Dayton, Ohio, more than 800 kilometers away, and was released four days ago.
The person who released the balloon said on the balloon that he wanted to do an experiment to see how far it could fly, and urged anyone who found it to call back.
Mr. Falstad dutifully returned the call, but he also said the irony was too great. Balloons, he argued, were extremely harmful to the environment and should not be released arbitrarily. Last week, at Falstad's urging, Queen Anne's County, where he lives, passed a balloon ban with a $250 fine for violators.
However, the ban excludes "involuntary neglect," meaning that if a toddler accidentally lets one of the balloons fly away, law enforcement officials will not pursue it.
At least five states and more than a dozen cities already have some form of balloon ban. In the summer of 2018, Clemson University, under pressure from environmentalists, decided to abandon a 30-year tradition and not release thousands of orange hydrogen balloons before a football game.
Why are more and more parts of the United States banning balloons?
Some experts say the dangers of balloons are not as well known as other single-use plastics. But researchers in Australia say balloons may be "one of the most harmful species to seabirds, turtles and Marine mammals". The animals can become entangled in the string attached to the balloon or swallow the deflated balloon. Therefore, releasing balloons carelessly is equivalent to littering.
LornaO'Hara, chief executive of the Balloon Council, which represents the balloon industry, worries that such discussions are giving balloons a negative stigma. 'It's not the balloons themselves that are harming the environment, it's the wrong use,' she says.