The European Party and Balloon Council has published an official press release and infographic in response to the European Commission’s proposed Single Use Plastics Directive.
The press release can be found on the partysafe.eu web page which has been set up as a dedicated hub for the campaign.
The press release responds to the fact that balloons and balloon sticks have been included in the top ten marine litter list for the proposed SUP directive. After crunching the data, EBPC has found no evidence in either OSPAR or the European Environment Agency databases that balloons are found in the top ten products found in their monitoring surveys.
”As a fun-loving product that brings endless joy and emotions to millions of people across the world, we feel it is unfair to the industry and wish to have our say and provide consumers with the real facts,” explained operations manager Suteesh Chumber.
The official release states that; “Research from the OSPAR Commission – the organisation through which 15 Governments and the EU cooperate to protect the marine environment – has recorded that of the total number of plastic items found on European beaches between 2010 and 2016, balloons represented just 1% and balloon sticks 0%.”
To help clarify the issue, the EBPC’s infographic shows what the top ten most common plastics found on European beaches actually are, as recorded by OSPAR Commission data. Neither balloons nor balloon sticks feature.
The EBPC has also written to the European Commission asking that it ceases to mention balloons and balloon sticks in its campaign materials.
To read the release in full or download the inforgraphic for your own use please visit partysafe.eu/balloonfacts
