Canadian city Kingston is the latest council to ban balloon releases for environmental reasons, joining a number of other localities including Toronto, Hamilton and Clarington.
Kingston City council came to the agreement on Tuesday 21 November, putting an end to the intentional release of balloons ‘in the great outdoors’.
Councillor Lisa Osanic brought special attention to the motion which was brought forward by the administrative policies committee. The motion asked that city staff prepare a report by the end of the first quarter of 2018 on how bylaws, policies or procedures could be altered to ban the intentional, ceremonial release ‘of helium-filled latex and Mylar/foil balloons’ in the city.
As part of her plea, Lisa suggested environmentally-friendly alternatives to a ceremonial balloon release include blowing bubbles, lighting candles, waving flags, flying kites or planting a tree.
Similar bans are already in place in selected areas across the United States, in the UK, Australia, Germany, Spain and Brazil.
