CLEVELAND — A ban on balloon releases has been approved Monday by Cleveland City Council. The legislation, which limits balloon releases to no more than 10, supplements a 1976 ordinance.
"The release into the atmosphere of large numbers of balloons inflated with lighter-than-air gases poses a danger and nuisance to the environment and public safety," the legislation says.
Cleveland City Council issued a press release that said mylar and latex balloons are “particularly dangerous.”
“Latex balloons can take anywhere between six months to four years to biodegrade. If mylar balloons touch a power line, it can cause a surge of electricity that short circuits equipment and can even lead to outages and fires.”
Council said balloons can also be easily mistaken as food for wildlife.
“Not only can ingesting them seriously harm and even kill, but they can also get tangled up and killed by the string that balloons are often tied onto.”
While announcing passage of the legislation, Council also noted that 18,000 balloons – or pieces of balloons made of mylar or latex – were found during Great Lakes cleanups between 2016 and 2018.
Instead of balloon releases, City Council offered the following options: “Blowing bubbles, wildflower seed bombs, planting trees or flower gardens, waving flags, banners and streamers and more.”
Cleveland is not alone in this ban. Council says other locations, including Toledo, have also banned balloon releases.
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Editor's note: Video in the player above was originally published in an unrelated article on Jan. 24, 2022.