What part of balloons are sustainable and unsustainable? I would argue that an air filled latex balloon is 100% sustainable and biodegradable – latex found in nature is a milky fluid found in 10% of all flowering plants.
Not that you should listen to me, recently a balloon drop was banned and drops are just air filled balloons in a net. After a drop it’s easy to sweep up (including all the plastic bottles).
On the reverse side I would say that a helium filled foil balloon is unsustainable. A foil balloon is more like a single use plastic bag and the helium we fill it with we can’t mine forever.
There is an argument that helium balloon gas is the stuff left over from pure helium use (like MRI scans) and if it wasn’t used in balloons it would just be released into the atmosphere. I’m not sure how true this is but it’s a fact that we will eventually run out of helium. Surely if something won’t last forever then it’s unsustainable – this is a no-brainer?
As for how long it takes a mylar foil balloon to biodegrade – I’m thinking it’s a bloody long time.
About 10 years ago the in word was “Logistics”. The word logistics appeared at the top of every website and on the back of every van. Now that’s been replaced with “sustainable”. Everybody is questioning if the product they are buying is sustainable and what impact it has on the planet and how it effects their own carbon footprint.
For years a bread and butter part of my business was:
1000 Printed Latex balloons + 1000 Inserted Valves + Helium to fill the balloons.
Then 1 day that part of sales stopped. It was like everybody in every industry suddenly didn’t want promotional balloons. You can see that a single use printed balloon, helium filled with a plastic ribboned valve is not sustainable. Forget about a “don’t let go” campaign – nobody wants the product to begin with because of the plastic valve and the helium.
Fortunately for me I pivoted in 2008. I concentrated more on air filled latex balloons and removed balloon releases & retail foils from this website. I still think a helium filled latex balloon is OK if the gas is a by-product (& if you don’t let go of it) but surely the days are numbered for foil & plastic bubble balloons?