New Milford (New Jersey) is the latest US borough to ban the intentional release of helium balloons on public land, making the practise illegal.
The move follows hot on the heels of similar bans which have been imposed across America and the UK in recent months and came into force from January 2018.
New Milford is the 15th town in New Jersey to adopt a balloon-release law. The legislation covers both foil and latex helium-filled balloons and can see people who flout the law being fined anywhere up to $500.
However, The Balloon Council, which lobbies for responsible handling of balloons and deregulation by lawmakers, believes this law and others like it advance misconceptions about the balloon industry.
“We care about the environment and sea life,” said spokesperson Dale Florio. “That’s why we’ve been educating the public for 30 years.”
Last year’s beach sweeps by Clean Water Action, a Highlands-based nonprofit, turned up 580 balloon fragments out of 219,000 total pieces of debris – a fraction of 1% – from the state’s 120 miles of shoreline, according to a flier published by The Balloon Council.
“It’s almost not calculable,” Dale continued. “This is less about balloon sales than it is about the message these ordinances send about balloons.”
Five US states have balloon-release laws: California, Connecticut, Florida, Tennessee and Virginia. A bill that would have made it illegal to release balloons across the whole of New Jersey was introduced in May, but did not gain traction.
