A local council has banned balloons at all of its venues in a massive blow to locals and tourists.
Byron Shire Council in northern NSW played party pooper on Tuesday with an announcement of the ban for its indoor and external sites, including playgrounds, sporting facilities, swimming pools, parks and even letterboxes and street poles.
It was part of a recent crackdown on single use plastic and other common litter items such as disks, ribbons and strings attached to balloons, glitter, confetti, streamers, tinsel, party poppers and glow sticks.
The ban extends to biodegradable balloons and all helium, latex and water inflatables.
Balloons are a hazard for native seabirds and other marine life such as turtles, according to mayor Michael Lyon, who insists the ban is ‘the right thing to do’.
Party balloons are to be banned from all sites owned by Byron Shire Council in northern NSW. Pictured are beachgoers in the tourist hotspot
‘We know that balloons are one most lethal types of debris impacting Australian Seabirds and other marine life including turtles, who eat burst balloons because they look like jellyfish,’ Cr Lyon said.
‘If balloons and party decorations are ending up in our oceans and waterways and causing harm to our precious marine life, we have to take strong and immediate action to stop this happening.
‘It’s what our community expects and absolutely the right thing to do.’
Surprisingly, Byron Bay Bang Bang Balloons owner Lily Boyau came out in support of the ban.
‘This ban should be the way of the future because nobody needs to throw balloons into the environment for any reason,’ she told the Daily Telegraph.
‘We don’t support helium balloons being released anywhere.’
A number of northern NSW councils have banned party balloons on their sites because of environmental concerns
Byron Bay mayor Michael Lyon said that deflated balloons are a hazard for native seabirds and marine life, such as turtles
Bang Bang Balloons sends workers to collect its balloons after an event and send them to TerraCycle for recycling.
The shop also recommends less harmful festive alternatives include flowers, fairy lights, festoons, lanterns, bubbles, kites, pinwheels and ribbon wands.
‘Many local events and venues have already taken the step to eliminate some of these items, and this is just the next phase of Byron leading the way,’ Cr Lyon added.
Nearby Ballina Shire has a similar ban that came into effect last year.
Neighbouring Tweed Council also announced a total balloon ban that came into effect in January 2023
‘Balloons, once a party staple, have been found to wreak havoc on animals and marine life,’ the council said at the time.
‘Whether foil, latex or so-called environmentally-friendly materials, all balloons have the potential to cause harm to our local ecosystems.’
Even biodegradable products can still take years to decay – in that time, they can be devastating to animals that swallow parts of them or get tangled in the strings they are often attached to.’
The council had already banned helium balloons on its land last September.
It says this was in line with NSW Government banning on single-use plastics which includes items such as plastic containers and cups, stirrers, and plastic microbeads.
The balloon ban was announced in response to concerns for sea birds and marine life
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