Paper Suggests Outdoor Balloon Release Ban

August 29, 2021

Passing a law to “ban the release of helium-filled balloons outdoors” is one of the proposals contained in the “regulating single-use plastics in Bermuda” policy paper, which the Government has released for consultation.

In providing a “summary of the actions that should be taken in Bermuda now, based on a review of similar jurisdictions and based on the available evidence on the harms caused by plastics in and to the environment,” one of the items listed was to “legislate a ban on the release of helium-filled balloons outdoors.”

Balloon bda aug 2021

While we do not, per se, have any statistics related to balloon releases in Bermuda, we cover many events around the island, and do not ever recall covering an event where people intentionally release balloons and checking our archives shows we don’t have any footage of it happening, however looking back at our archives over the years, we have reported at least two power outages caused by balloons getting tangled in wires.

The 57 page Policy Document follows below [PDF here]:

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Category: All, Environment, News, Politics

Comments (6)

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  1. Will says:

    Great idea! Should’ve been implemented a long time ago. Please ban plastic kites as well. Has a double effect, good for the environment and a cottage industry for making bermuda kites can thrive. Our traditional kites when made with the traditional materials are basically environmentally friendly so not too big of a worry if they land in the ocean and are unretrievable

  2. wahoo says:

    All balloons should be banned. They represent waste and unnecessary use of plastic inevitably ending up in the environment.

  3. puzzled says:

    Great idea.
    Happening all around the world.
    These things fall into the ocean/lakes and are the cause of millions of deaths amongst turtles and birds whom think they are jellyfish and/or other food.

    Plus they litter the landscape.

    Gives a new meaning to “Food for Thought”.

  4. Ringmaster says:

    The ban on releasing rubber or plastic balloons outdoors is way overdue. Bad enough in a large country but guaranteed to fall into the ocean and become a serious danger to turtles in particular.

  5. Terrence Roberts says:

    The Corporation of St. George already has an ordinance prohibiting the intentional release of helium filled balloons
    within the town limits .

  6. Make a decision says:

    Common sense that you do that. Just do it. Stop the games.it makes sense. Either you are serious or get out of the game