Ban On Intentional Release of Balloons Supported By Trustees

EAST HAMPTON, NY — East Hampton Town Trustees voted unanimously Monday night to support a ban on the intentional release of balloons in town — and it's a move that has environmentalists rejoicing.

The ban would be aimed at putting the brakes on large-scale balloon releases at events such as weddings, graduations, and birthdays, or memorial ceremonies held at the beach during which loved ones send balloons into the air to remember those who have died.

According to the Surfrider Foundation, Eastern Long Island Chapter, which posted about the potential ban on social media, "current Suffolk County Law permits the release of 25 balloons per person within a 24-hour period. Surfrider and the East Hampton Town Trustees are gathering letters for those in support of banning the intentional release of balloons in towns and villages within Suffolk County."

Those in support so far, the Foundation said, include East Hampton Town trustees, the Peconic Baykeeper, Concerned Citizens of Montauk, Balloons Blow, The Nature Conservancy in New York, Group for the East End, Defend H2O, the Long Island Sierra Club, the Accabonac Protection Committee, the East Hampton Chamber of Commerce, Paddle Diva, and lawmakers including New York State Assemblyman Fred Thiele and Suffolk County Legislator Bridget Fleming.

East Hampton Trustee Susan McGraw Keber said the unanimous vote was "very exciting."

While she said she does not want to hurt local businesses that sell party supplies and balloons, as a PADI certified rescue diver, she's had a first person glimpse of how balloons hurt wildlife. If sea creatures ingest balloons, they can die — and many die after becoming entangled, she said.

According to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, birds, turtles and other animals commonly mistake balloons for food, which can harm or even kill them — and many are strangled by balloon strings.

In addition, coral reefs are impacted by debris in the ocean, McGraw Keber said.

Education is critical, she added: "It really has become a mission for me as an individual to make kids aware of what’s going on."

To that end, she's designed T-shirts, as well as a framed image of a fish, made up of balloon remnants, to show how balloons hurt marine and wildlife. McGraw Keber visits local schools to share the important message.

All proceeds from T-shirt sales go to a scholarship awarded each year, she added.

Involved in beach cleanups, McGraw Keber says she all too often finds mylar and latex balloons, some even found recently that said "Happy Thanksgiving."

With the trustees onboard, the next step is to give a presentation to the town's litter and recycling committee and then, speak before the East Hampton Town board, with the goal of banning the intentional release of balloons townwide, she said.

The intent, McGraw Keber said, is not to punish a child with a balloon who might accidentally let it go, but to ban balloons at events such as weddings, replacing the balloons with kites or whirly birds on sticks, things that can be used more than once.

She also plans to reach out to real estate offices, to suggest they stop using the balloons at open houses, only to be left there when the events are over.

Bottom line, McGraw Keber said, she'd like to see a total ban on the use and sale of balloons, similar to what exists on Block Island.

"It's going to take some time," she said. "You can't take a sledgehammer to people's livelihood. You have to take it slow and make people realize it's for the betterment of the community and environment."

Theo Landi, owner The Party Shoppe in East Hampton, said she would support a ban on intentional release of balloons. "I think it's a stupid thing for people to do. They know that it's bad for the wildlife, so why do it?" she said.

Latex balloons, however, are one hundred percent biodegradable, a "pure, natural product — they come out of the Brazilian rain forest," Landi said.

And, Landi said she feels like so much legislation, including laws meant to address plastic bags and dogs on the beach, the new proposal will be "non-enforceable."

Kevin McAllister, founding president of Defend H2O, supported the measure: “Plastics pollution, if left unchecked, is a death knell for our oceans. And balloon releases are the visible evidence of the problem. Congratulations to the trustees and Surfrider Foundation for bringing awareness to this monumental issue.”

Photo courtesy Susan McGraw Keber.