Your say / Bristol
Bristol balloon ban?
When Bristol’s much-loved hot air balloons have completed their magical flight, they are carefully packed away into the back of a truck, ready for their next trip. But when helium balloons or paper ‘sky lanterns’ (also known as Chinese lanterns) are released, their journey is one-way.
Nobody collects them and carefully packs them away at the end of their journey – they land in fields, nature reserves, rivers or the sea and become ordinary litter. In the best case, they take up to four years to biodegrade.
But that’s if they don’t get eaten and choke farm and wild animals, or cause them to starve, or if the string doesn’t entangle and trap smaller animals, or if the metal or bamboo frame of a lantern doesn’t cause injuries.
is needed now More than ever
Examples of pollution and harm caused by balloon and sky lantern releases from a Marine Conservation Society poster
Some balloons don’t biodegrade at all, because they are made from foil, coated with a plastic film. These stay in the ecosystem for ever, broken down into ever smaller pieces that are eaten by sea creatures and eventually make their way into our food system, like microbeads.
Sound unpleasant? Like something that shouldn’t be happening in Bristol, a former Green Capital? I agree. But it is taking place.
Organisations in Bristol came under fire earlier this summer for releasing balloons as a publicity stunt
The Marine Conservation Society (MCS) has launched a campaign called Don’t Let Go which aims to change this.
They argue: “If pieces of balloon were to be dropped directly on the ground you could be fined for littering, but because they are let go – not dropped – they are not classed as litter under current legislation, despite the fact that what goes up comes back down.”
The campaign has persuaded an impressive 60 UK Councils to bring in a ban on balloon and/or sky lantern releases, but so far only one of the UK’s Core Cities (the 10 biggest cities outside of London, of which Bristol is one) has introduced a ban and that’s Cardiff.
It’s time that Bristol joined them.
I have been working with Kay Snowdon, a MCS Sea Champion volunteer who lives in the ward I represent. She has worked hard collating research on how the other councils have done it. I am confident that we can bring in something similar here.
What is important is that the ban has a sense of proportion to it. It shouldn’t be about fining a toddler for accidentally letting go of a balloon, but about setting clear rules for events that take place on council land and providing guidance to all event organisers.
It will require a change in mindset from citizens as well as the council, for example to think about alternative ways of marking a launch event or memorial ceremony. (Got any other innovative ideas? Let me know!)
Bristolians love the sight of hot air balloons floating overhead, but what of the kind that don’t get packed away?
I will be presenting Kay’s findings to Bristol’s cabinet member for waste, Fi Hance, next week. Watch this space, and in the meantime, people of Bristol and especially event organisers, don’t let go!
Carla Denyer is Green Party councillor for Clifton Down.
Read more: ‘Another day, another deadly helium balloon release’
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