Can balloon releases be regulated in New Orleans?
NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — A mylar balloon can take out the power and pollute the environment.
WGNO’s LBJ took a look at why the balloon releases may be a hard habit to break.
“The big thing about mylar balloons is that it’s metallic in nature and so with it having that metallic composition, it’s conductive. When you have balloons like that and you have a balloon release or something like that, it can actually bridge the gap or the spacing that we have from one conductor to another, allowing for a fault to occur,” said Entergy Director of Reliability Shelton Hudson.
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Balloon releases are most commonly associated with memorials, predominately in the Black community, as a means of grieving a loved one.
“They’re looking for some form of relief. Historically in this community, it’s through music, dancing in the street or the repast but now this phenomenon of the balloon release has developed in the last 15 years,” said Charbonnet Funeral Homes CEO Louis Charbonnet.
Charbonnet Funeral Home staff say that the releasing of doves and butterflies for loved ones is a tradition that goes back even further but are more expensive options and offer limited participation.
“When you do a dove release, that’s usually just on the family. Where mylar comes in, everybody goes out and buys mylar. In other words, the cousins buy mylars or the friends buy mylars,” said Charbonnet.
This glut of balloons often ends up in our waterways and affects our ecology. Former WGNO Meteorologist Martha Spencer is an offshore fish captain out of Venice, and she sounded the alarm for several years.
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“I would say that 90% of any trash that I see offshore other than something that forms up on rip lines I believe are balloons. We’ll be driving, and we see something shiny. Whether it be one balloon or 10 balloons, they all float and become problems not only for the boats but for the wildlife,” said Spencer.
“Some of the top species we see impacted by balloons are birds, sea turtles, even things as large as a whale can ingest them. So, we’re seeing animals get entangled in balloons but also eat them, which can have deadly effects,” Audubon Aquarium Director of Sustainability/Coastal Conservation John Fallon.
Both Virginia and Florida have outlawed the intentional release of balloons and local lawmakers are now talking about what can be done to protect our infrastructure and wildlife.
“We can’t have a system going out because of one thing. I can’t control squirrels or birds, or wildlife, but the mylar is something we can have a conversation about how we find the appropriate place, so this doesn’t keep on happening to us,” New Orleans City Council Joe Giarrusso.
The city council banned mylar confetti cannons in 2023 after they knocked out power in a carnival parade. Giarusso says he expects the council to come up with an ordinance to limit balloon releases as well.
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