ENCINITAS CONSIDERING BAN ON HELIUM BALLOONS
A proposed ordinance banning the use, sale or release of “lighter than air,” or helium-filled, balloons could go before the Encinitas City Council for a vote later this year or early next.
The item is up for consideration at this month’s meeting of the city’s Environmental Commission, which will be an in-person gathering scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Oct. 14 at City Hall. If the commission votes to recommend approval — a decision that proponents expect is highly likely, given that the commission unanimously recommended drafting the ordinance earlier this year — it will be placed on a future City Council agenda, likely in December or perhaps early next year.
If approved, the ban would apply to various types of helium-filled balloons, including rubber or latex balloons, as well as the metallooking Mylar ones, the draft ordinance states. People can still buy and use these balloons as long as they filled with ordinary air, rather than a “lighter-thanair” substance, such as helium. The ordinance contains exemptions for balloons that are used for medical, industrial or scientific purposes, as well as manned hot-air balloons.
Mark O’Connor, one of the leaders of the local Surfrider Foundation’s Rise Above Plastics Committee, was among several people who initially brought forward the proposal to the Environmental Commission and he’s hoping other San Diego County cities follow what Encinitas is doing.
Anyone who regularly walks San Diego County’s beaches knows that escaped balloons are a marine trash problem, he said, mentioning that he has personally collected more than 150 balloons from area beaches in a three-month period. Balloons can be a hazard for marine animals, he added, describing photos he’s seen of sea turtles who tried to eat balloons and dolphins who became tangled in ribbons attached to deflated balloons.
O’Connor said balloons also endanger birds and desert tortoises. He has linked up with Sicco Rood, a UC Irvine research associate who has launched a petition drive to get heliumfilled mylar balloons banned in San Diego County because they can escape their weighted-down strings and land in wildlife habitats.
“I find these balloons and their strings and ribbons littering and tangled up in cacti and other plants in pristine areas of desert on a daily basis,” Rood wrote in his Change.org petition which has collected 3,126 signatures toward a 5,000 goal.
But not everyone is in favor of a ban. The Balloon Council, a national advocacy organization, has launched its own signature drive at noencinitasballoonban.com.
“As Californians look forward to celebrating a return to normalcy, the Encinitas City Council wants to ban balloons from your next birthday, graduation, wedding, or celebration event,” the organization’s online petition form.
A city survey conducted earlier this year found that there were eight retailers in Encinitas who sold heliumfilled balloons: Smart n’ Final, Stater Brothers, Vons, 99 Cents Only, Ralphs, 1800-Flowers, Party City and The Dollar Store. A Party City representative said helium-filled balloons accounted for 20 percent of sales and 1-800-Flowers reported 15 percent.