Springtime In CT Brings Renewed Warnings About Balloon Dangers

CONNECTICUT — Warnings about what balloons can do to wildlife and the environment in Connecticut have become as much a rite of passage each spring as the graduation, birthday and general parties that lead to the them being released in the first place.

Leading the charge each year are a governmental agency — the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection — and an advocacy group — Balloonsblow.org.

"Instead of releasing balloons, find an environmentally friendly way to celebrate an event or memorialize a loved one," DEEP officials proclaim annually. "Balloons and their strings come back to the ground as litter and can be deadly to wildlife. Large balloon releases are illegal in Connecticut, but no balloons should be released at all."

That's right, there is a law in Connecticut against releases of 10 or more balloons in a 24-hour period.

It falls under Chapter 490 of the Connecticut Statutes and reads:

Sec. 26-25c. Release of lighter-than-air balloons restricted. Penalty.

(a) No person, nonprofit organization, firm or corporation, including the state and its political subdivisions, shall knowingly release, organize the release of or intentionally cause to be released into the atmosphere within a twenty-four-hour period ten or more helium or other lighter-than-air gas balloons in the state.

(b) Any violation of subsection (a) of this section shall be an infraction.

Mylar balloons are worse than latex balloons in terms of being biodegradable, the groups say, but latex is far from being off the hook. Ballonsblow.org sends an even harsher message than the DEEP:

"The balloon industry has set standards for themselves claiming that releasing balloons that are hand-tied, so-called biodegradable latex balloons without any attachments of ribbon is environmentally friendly," organization representatives say. "This is just a marketing gimmick to get people to litter with their product. Natural latex may be biodegradable, but after adding chemicals, plasticizers and artificial dyes, how natural could it be? It may degrade after several years, but it's surely not biodegradable.

"Many people think it’s okay to release latex balloons because they are marketed as biodegradable. Sadly, this costs lives. Latex balloons are the type most commonly found in the stomachs of dead animals."

DEEP environmentalists have said a springtime breeze can carry balloons for miles, taking them from points inland right to Long Island Sound and the four species of sea turtles that inhabit Connecticut waters.

"Sea turtles love to eat jellyfish and a balloon, once it deflates and begins floating in Long Island Sound, looks like a jellyfish," they told Patch as far back as 2016. "We have found turtles washed up on the shore. I remember sending some to Mystic Aquarium for autopsies and their intestines were clogged by balloons."

Representatives from Balloonsblow.org said they have traced shoreline balloon litter from as far away as Pennsylvania.

Perhaps no town has more coves and inlets in Connecticut than Greenwich. Local first selectman Fred Camillo said that, in addition to the environmental dangers, grounded balloons just don't look good.

"Discarded balloons continue to be a problem in Connecticut's waterways," Camillo said. "They are not only unsightly, they can cause damage to the environment, cause power outages, and kill our wildlife. What may seem like an innocent activity becomes in reality a danger to all. "