---
title: Balloons, a great threat to the ecosystem
description: Nice and colorful, symbols of festive occasions and important celebrations. They are the balloons, much loved and sought-after, yet...
---

[Treedom Blog: Sustainable & Green Lifestyle](https://blog.treedom.net/en)

# [Balloons, a great threat to the ecosystem](https://blog.treedom.net/en/blog/post/balloons-a-great-threat-to-the-ecosystem-2061)

 Written by [People at Treedom](https://blog.treedom.net/en/author/people-at-treedom) | Apr 12, 2017 10:00:00 PM

Nice and colorful, symbols of festive occasions and important celebrations. They are the **balloons**, much loved and sought-after, yet about them someone is playing defense. What now has become a tradition for the festivities it would also seem to be a potent **threat to the ecosystem**.

**After having soared and have traveled the skies**, **here they are in fact falling back to earth**, **making their way back and becoming at the same time polluting material being made** (at least most) **in latex**, a material that requires from 6 months to 4 years for decomposition. In addition, **both marine and terrestrial animals frequently mistake deflated balloons as food**. Once ingested, balloons can cause stomach or intestinal blockages, eventually leading to starvation. Also, **helium that drives them to rise to the top**, although it is the second most abundant element in the universe, **it is relatively rare on Earth**. It cannot be manufactured, and once it’s released into the atmosphere, **it quickly escapes into space making impossible to reuse it for other implications such as cooling nuclear reactors or document preservation**.

It’s not the first time that someone argues on this point and it’s not the only 'innocent' habit which actually conceals threats to the environment: among others there are also fireworks (sources of air pollution due to the residues released into the air and propellants) and flying lanterns (often responsible for fires and characterized by a very long decomposition process). But concerning the balloons or rather, the plastic with which they are made, the first to show the negative effects of their use were the **CSIRO** (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization) in **Australia** and the **British Imperial College from London**. According to their estimates, more than 90% of seabirds has ingested plastic of various type and origin, and it’s expected that, by 2050, the percentage will reach 99%. Fears, however, regarding the balloons, can be resized: the latter represents only a negligible percentage with respect to the remaining amount of plastic (bags, bottles and caps) that are dispersed into the environment every day.

What to do then? Suggestions? Impossible to deny a balloon to a child (unless helium does not become in a short time an element endangered), but in case of big events and celebrations it would be ideal to opt for **more environmentally friendly alternatives** like the flowers petals or simple candles. Other good habits: choose decorations that can be reused or engage in a do-it-yourself home to which even the youngest can join.

[View full post](https://blog.treedom.net/en/blog/post/balloons-a-great-threat-to-the-ecosystem-2061)

```json
{
  "@context" : "http://schema.org",
  "@type" : "BlogPosting",
  "author" : {
    "@type" : "Person",
    "name" : "People at Treedom"
  },
  "dateModified" : "2021-05-25T10:12:26.026Z",
  "datePublished" : "2017-04-12T22:00:00Z",
  "headline" : "Balloons, a great threat to the ecosystem",
  "image" : {
    "@type" : "ImageObject",
    "height" : 1080,
    "url" : "https://f.hubspotusercontent40.net/hubfs/8486845/Imported_Blog_Media/380808.jpeg",
    "width" : 1920
  },
  "mainEntityOfPage" : "https://blog.treedom.net/en/blog/post/balloons-a-great-threat-to-the-ecosystem-2061",
  "publisher" : {
    "@type" : "Organization",
    "logo" : {
      "@type" : "ImageObject",
      "height" : 60.0,
      "url" : "https://f.hubspotusercontent40.net/hubfs/8486845/2558treedom2021800800square.png",
      "width" : 60.0
    },
    "name" : "TreeBlog - Green News for a Sustainable World"
  }
}
```