The Marine Conservation Society (MCS), the UK’s leading marine charity, is hoping to encourage communities to think again before organising balloon and sky lantern releases.
From charity releases to memorial events, letting hundreds, sometimes thousands of balloons and lanterns into the sky has become common practice up and down the country. But stunning as these releases may look, the results on the marine environment can be devastating.
MCS Pollution Campaigns Officer, Emma Cunningham says choking and entanglement are the biggest dangers that balloons and lanterns cause when they float back down to earth.
Many local authorities and organisations have already agreed to stop balloon and lantern releases and the charity hopes that by working with local communities, more events can be replaced with harmless alternatives.
