5 Gyres - Understanding Plastic Pollution Through Exploration, Education, and Action

This balloon was found washed ashore at 3 Mile Beach CA.

One of the more ubiquitous marine debris items is the balloon with curly-cue ribbons trailing behind, usually densely intermingled with seaweed.  I used to wonder what happened to released balloons once they left the fingertips of a birthday kid whose grip loosened or at the end of a celebration when the strings were cut and balloons were emancipated to the skies. Now that I’ve been looking, I see that they often end up in our seas and eventually, are brought back to our shores to show us where they’ve been. Aside from deadly entanglement issues, marine animals like sea turtles wind up mistaking floating balloons for squid and ingesting them. There have been many accounts of marine animals -- dolphins, whales, sea turtles, fish, and seabirds - sea turtles swallowing balloons. Balloons are usually found washed up singularly, but occasionally form twisted aggregations. Ribbons (made of plastic) used to tie balloons can pose more of a problem than the balloons, which can be made of natural latex.

Balloons make their way around the gyre just as any other piece of plastic would – there is no way to know the when and where of this balloon’s origins, but you can see from the accumulation of barnacles and algae that it has made its rounds through and possibly across the ocean. For every downed balloon you see on a beach, you can assume there are many, many more waiting to be ingested by sea life or washed ashore.

The following information is from Clean Ocean Action:

"Dr. Peter Lutz, noted sea turtle biologist in Florida, published a study in 1990 on the ingestion of latex balloon pieces by sea turtles....Dr. Lutz' study found:

1. When offered a mix of pieces of clear plastic and brightly colored latex, the turtles showed a strong preference for the latex pieces over the plastic.

2. In experiments with latex only, sea turtles demonstrated that if their appetite is sufficient, they will actively swim towards and ingest latex materials, that all colors are acceptable, and that the amount ingested will depend on their nutritional state.

3. The length of time that the latex remained in the turtle's intestinal tract ranged from a few days to four months, with a peak time period of eight weeks. (Note: the normal gut passage time in sea turtles is approx. 10 days.)

4. Turtles passed multiple pieces bound together, although they had ingested the individual pieces at different times, showing the possible cumulative effect of ingestion of latex balloon pieces.

Evidence of Impacts: Scientists who work with stranded whales, dolphins, seals and sea turtles have been looking at the stomach contents of these dead marine animals. These scientists have found balloons, parts of balloons and balloon string during numerous necropsies.

Releasing balloons into the air is littering, and ultimately the balloons will return to earth. The balloon industry claims that balloons explode in many tiny harmless fragments when they reach a certain altitude. Beach Sweep data refutes this claim. Over 32,000 balloons were picked-up on beaches during the 1999 cleanup - clear evidence that many return to earth intact.