A proposal to ban balloons from Vancouver's parks and community centres was popped Monday night, after the city's park board voted against the measure.
Vancouver Parks Board Commissioner Stuart Mackinnon had introduced the motion, citing concerns for sea turtles, jellyfish, birds and dolphins who may be tempted to consume discarded bits of colourful latex or become tangled in the attached strings.
“Birds often get entangled, and, once unable to fly, face certain death. Flippers and fins of sea turtles, seals, and dolphins can also become wrapped in string, causing infections, amputations and/or death by drowning,” the motion reads.
He also deemed the popular party-favours the cause of "more childhood death than any other toy," pointing to a study from the Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh and the DuPont Institute.
The proposal had caught the ire of local clowns, and was hit with criticism by other parks board members who said there were bigger problems facing parks and community centres.
Kristal Yee from the local face painting and balloon art purveyor Faceaballoonza told CTV Vancouver that Mackinnon’s plan for a blanket ban is inflating the negative impact balloons have on the city.
“Nobody is going to be banning Starbucks from doing take-out coffee because people are leaving their cups there,” she said. “It’s a very small percentage of the garbage, not that any garbage is a good thing.”
She also wants to take a pin to Mackinnon’s assertion that latex balloons are “non-renewable.”
“They are from the latex trees, which are actually not a problem with the deforestation kind of things because they can be harvested from multiple times. You can’t actually get latex from a latex tree for 40 years. So they are not getting cut down or anything like that,” she said.
Latex balloons are often sold as biodegradable as well.
Dr. Martin Haulena, a veterinarian with the Vancouver Aquarium previously told CTV Vancouver that while balloons can pose risks for wildlife, he sees no reason for a ban.
“As long as everyone's responsible with their balloons, I think it’s okay,” he said last week.
With a report from CTV Vancouver’s Penny Daflos
