In general, balloons for birthdays and parties are usually used, being able to find both plastic balloons swollen with air and balloons with helium, although balloons are also used as entertainment for the smallest and small ones, for example, buying them in crowded walks and squares and giving it to the little ones as a temporary toy, as they will end soon in the garbage. How many times have we seen the loose balloons in an event, ending them later in nature? This festive object that may seem harmless, can really cause a great impact on the natural environment.
So, Do the balloons contaminate? This is a question that many people still wonder. Therefore, in this interesting ecology article, we will talk about the environmental impact and contamination of balloons, as well as aspects related to how much the balloons contaminatewhich leads us to think why not use balloons at parties, and the possible alternatives to these.
What are the balloons
There are different Types of balloonsso the composition of these changes depending on the balloon you are talking about. The balloons are made of the following materials:
- Polyurethane balloons: The balloons made with polyurethane, one of the most frequent types of plastics, were the first and are still used.
- Latex balloons: latex composed, material extracted from a family from the family of Euphorbiaceas. This material is extracted from the tree making a cut in its cortex, from this cut a liquid that is the latex comes out. For the manufacture of the balloons, the latex is mixed with water and different chemicals to achieve the desired thickness and texture, and in the end it is added dye to give it color. Well, as you know you can find balloons of all colors.
- MICROFOIL OR POLYAMIDE GALLS: They are those so striking and bright, increasingly common in decoration. This type of balloon is formed from synthetic polymers, and are more expensive than latex, but the fact that they do not expand when inflicting allows all kinds of shapes and designs to be performed.
How the balloons affect the environment
Before thinking about letting goals in the events, although it can be something beautiful and fun, we should ask ourselves, where will these balloons end? The answer is simple, these Balloons will end at sea or on earth having harmful consequences for water, soil and biodiversity From the area, let’s not forget that in the composition of the balloons there are also chemicals. It must also be borne in these loose balloons can be a threat to birds; The balloons can reach great heights and obstruct the flight routes of the birds.
Although the environment in general is affecting, The environmental impact of balloons mainly affects the animals that inhabit the affected ecosystems. These can confuse them with food, so they end up ingesting and as a consequence they can die by suffocation or also, as in the case of turtles, end obstructed intestines, reaching die from starvation as he cannot feed well or by poisoning. Besides, They degrade soil and watermaking these lose quality and are harmful. Another big problem is that, sometimes, the balloons that are released always have hooked objects such as letters, threads, plastic sticks, papers, which will also end up contaminating the environment.
Here we comment with more details plastic pollution: causes, consequences and solutions and, more specifically, plastics in the sea: causes, consequences and solutions.
How long does it take to degrade a balloon
Polyurethane balloons take until 450 years in decomposing, being highly dangerous to the environment and its fauna. Like the Microfoil balloons, which take hundreds of years to decompose.
On the other hand, latex balloons have an average degradation of up to a few years, everything depends on the environmental factors that influence their degradation. For example, in contact with the air a latex balloon takes until 2 or 3 months in degrading, however, if it is in contact with the water it takes Between 6 months and some years.
Here we talk more about how long the plastic takes to degrade and how long it takes to degrade biodegradable plastic.
Are there biodegradable balloons?
If there are biodegradable balloons, they are those that are composed of 100% natural latex and have not been treated with chemicals, since in that case they could not be considered degradable.
Although the 100% natural latex balloons are considered biodegradable balloonswe have already mentioned that They can take from a few months to several years to degrademore than enough time so that it can be ingested by an animal and can also contaminate water and earth.
In these other articles we talk about the biodegradation of plastics and what are biodegradable plastics.
Ecological alternatives to avoid balloons that pollute the environment
A Alternative to balloon release at parties It really does not exist, since all those materials released in the air, however biodegradable the materials used, in the time they degrade can be a source of pollution and danger to the environment and its biodiversity.
However, to decorate a place where an event will be held, always remember to use 100% natural latex balloons And once said event ended, Recognize and deposit them in the organic waste container of your home. If in the end, you end up using polyurethane balloons, at least be sure to pick them up and give it a second use, for example, using them to create a work of art. It is always better to give them a second use, which end up in the landfill.
Luckily, already in many areas of the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom, where balloon release was very frequent, they are implanted laws that prohibit this activity To end this problem.
Finally, we recommend these other ecology articles about these related topics:
- How the plastic is recycled.
- +20 tips to avoid plastic pollution.
If you want to read more articles similar to Do the balloons contaminate?we recommend that you enter our pollution category.
