It was a victory for the environment Wednesday as Suffolk County legislators voted unanimously to pass a ban on the intentional release of balloons.
Suffolk County will follow East Hampton and Southampton Towns with the ban, which means that county residents will no longer be able to release up to 25 balloons every 24 hours, as they’ve been able to so far.
“This means people are aware and will become aware of the dangers of latex and Mylar balloons,” said East Hampton Trustee Susan McGraw Keber, who has been advocating for the legislation. “Our beautiful marine animals and birds may have a reprieve from the ever-present balloons that can prove fatal; our beaches may now be cleaner; and our waterways perhaps less filled with these single use products that are non-biodegradable.”
McGraw Keber said New York State Assemblyman Fred Thiele has drafted legislation to present to the state when they reconvene in January.
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“It is anticipated that by spring it will come to a vote and I cannot imagine that this will not pass as it impacts our environment — all negative,” she said. “The victory achieved today is that we have decided to recognize and eliminate harmful products in our environment — our ecosystem will benefit.”
McGraw Keber thanked Colleen Henn who left the Surfrider Foundation but still does the group’s blue task water sampling nationally. “We worked on this together for quite some time,” she said.
The Southampton Town board voted unanimously in June to support a resolution banning the intentional release of balloons.
The intent of the legislation is to reduce the negative impact that balloons have on the environment, the board said.
“We need to change our behaviors and find better alternatives to products that harm our environment,” said Councilwoman Julie Lofstad, who sponsored the resolution. “There are viable alternatives, such as butterfly releases, planting a tree in someone’s honor, or using whirligigs to attract attention, she said.” If we stop and think
about where these single use items go after we are done with them, perhaps we will be more cognizant and careful in our choices.”
The legislation represented Lofstad’s latest effort to support environmental sustainability in Southampton; earlier this year, Lofstad sponsored legislation to ban plastic straws and polystyrene in the Town.
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An Intentional balloon release is an issue that’s been in the spotlight recently. For many years, some have marked the passing of a loved one by heading to the beach and releasing a bunch of balloons toward heaven. Balloons have also been used to celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, proms and other joyful occasions.
But now, environmental advocates and others, citing the disastrous impacts to the environment, are advocating a ban on balloon releases — and the question of whether or not the ban should be implemented has environmentalists and the party supply industry divided.
According to a report by Global News, the tradition might soon be “deflated,” with some states considering a ban on balloon releases.
Bills to limit the intentional release of large numbers balloons are being discussed by lawmakers in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Arizona, Rhode Island, and Maine, said Jennifer Schultz of the National Conference of State Legislatures in the Global News report.
Texas is weighing study on “windblown and waterborne litter “including helium balloons; similar legislation was nixed in Kentucky recently, the report said. Meanwhile, the post added, California, Connecticut, Florida, Tennessee and Virginia already have laws that ban or restrict balloon releases.
On Long Island, environmental advocates have urged lawmakers to embrace the ban. East Hampton Town Trustees voted unanimously in December to support a ban on the intentional release of balloons in town; the East Hampton town board adopted the legislation to ban the intentional releases in February.
Some residents say they find far too many balloons on the beach. On Long Island, Ken Stier took photos, which he’s shared on social media, “to bring some awareness to the ridiculous amount of balloons that land up on our beaches. These were taken from Field 5, Robert Moses to Ocean Bay. I titled them, ‘They don’t make it to heaven.'”
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