Balloons fallacy burst

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A WORLD without balloons would be a sad one, says the owner of Launceston store Blast Balloons and Parties, but the party is over according to University of Tasmania researchers.

The university’s Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies burst the party industry’s biodegradable latex balloon bubble when it published a new study on Tuesday.

Commissioned by Zoos Victoria and City of Hobart Council, the study tested commercial marketing claims that latex balloons are biodegradable.

The frequent source of environmental litter was tested in freshwater, salt water and industrial compost for 16 weeks and showed no meaningful signs of degradation.

The research was published in the Journal of Hazardous Materials.

Lead author Morgan Gilmour said biodegradability of latex balloons had been tested in a peer-reviewed study only once before, in 1989.

PATRICK GEE

However, a dissertation and an industry-funded report provided conflicting data.

“The environmental impact and longevity of balloons have long been a matter of debate between environmentalists and manufacturers, so we were surprised at the lack of relevant research,” Dr Gilmour said.

“In the absence of robust scientific information, consumers have been unable to make informed decisions when presented with packaging claiming latex balloons are biodegradable.”

Co-author Jennifer Lavers said latex balloons were marketed as biodegradable because latex is a natural product, but the manufacturing process added many other chemicals and compounds.

“Helium-filled latex balloons can travel for hundreds of kilometres before littering land or water and they can be lethal to wildlife,” Dr Lavers said.

Blast Balloons and Parties owner Sharon Parry, who is an active member of the Pro Environmental Balloons Alliance, said she was “very interested” to read the UTAS study.

She said she believed balloons do break down, but not sufficiently or quickly enough to prevent possible risk or harm to wildlife when they become litter.

“Banning the deliberate release of balloons and promoting the responsible use and disposal is vital for effective environmentally responsible change,” she said.

“A world without balloons would be very sad.”