Time we stopped ‘damaging’ balloon releases, council told

COUNCILS in Lancashire are being asked to consider a ban on the release of balloons and sky lanterns on their land.

The recommendation was one of a series made by a task group of county councillors investigating ways to reduce single-use plastics in the region.

The chair of the group, Green Party councillor Gina Dowding, said that it would be an easy rule for County Hall and the district authorities to implement as it would not require a bylaw.

“If there were any other incidents where people were gathering and dumping a whole load of plastic in one place, there would be outrage about it,” she said.

“But because balloons go up into the air, before they come down, we don’t see the immediate consequences. However, they are very significant.

“We don’t want to stop parties or commemorations, but we can’t allow [something which] causes so much damage.”

The suggestions in the report were welcomed by Lancashire County Council’s internal scrutiny committee, although they are not official council policy.

The authority has already adopted a number of other recommendations about what can be done to reduce its own reliance on single-use plastics. Committee members heard that, in County Hall, plastic cups have been replaced with drinking glasses and soft drinks bottles have been shelved in favour of cans.

But bottled water is a plastic problem proving more difficult to solve – the council’s in-house cafe sells around 5,500 bottles per year, although staff are being encouraged to bring refillable bottles.

Single-use food containers and cutlery have been traded in for less wasteful alternatives – with their higher cost being passed on to customers. And according to the task group, it is the environmental benefit of making sometimes difficult choices which needs to be communicated to other public bodies in the county such as schools and social care facilities.

While the group was concerned primarily with reducing plastic use, it did also turn its attention to how plastic is recycled in the county.

Currently, only plastic bottles are collected for recycling by district authorities, while tubs and trays have to be taken by individual householders to one of the county council’s waste centres.

But the task group report noted that the national trend was for a wider range of kerbside recycling.

The county council’s waste department said the authority could save an estimated £4m if it diverted the 50,000 ton of recyclable material which currently goes to landfill.

The task group raised the possibility of the authority’s material recovery facility in Farington being adapted to capture “higher value” plastics and to diversify into processing the material for future use.

Committee member George Wilkins warned of a bleak future if action were not taken now and said there was a role for innovative small businesses in the county.

“We are a disgusting society and the way we are going on, we’ll leave nothing for our grandchildren except a very dirty environment. Let’s see this moved on – and if the big boys [can’t help with the practicalities], let’s encourage the small manufacturers who can work with us,” he said.