Balloons and the Environment At BAPIA we take our environmental responsibilities very seriously and we believe that it is important for us to be a leader in the field in order to protect the future of our members and the balloon and party industry. Having carried out a survey of members recently, and based on the results from the 150+ responses received, BAPIA has taken the decision that it will no longer support balloon releases. With numerous balloon bans being implemented across the globe, including some in the UK it is necessary to take pro-active action to thwart the spread of the blanket balloon bans that we are seeing. These are not simply bans on balloon releases but are complete bans on balloons, from helium filled latex and foils right through to entertainers with the twisting balloon. Both EBPC (European Balloon and Party Council) www.ebpcouncil.eu and PEBA (Pro Environment Balloon Alliance) www.peba.com.au have already taken similar stances and now BAPIA are adding their voice to cause in an effort to protect the balloon industry. John Bowler, Chief Executive of BAPIA said “This decision has been taken based upon the views of our members, and the desire to save the balloon industry. With only 37% of respondents showing any support for balloon releases and 70% agreeing that balloon releases create litter we feel that the majority of our members are strongly in favour of this action. We cannot bury our heads in the sand and pretend it is not happening, it is time to stand up and be counted. We believe that the anti-balloon campaigns are gaining momentum and they are citing litter damage to the environment and wildlife as one of the main reasons, and it has to be said that it is an indisputable fact that any balloon release will see the balloons return to earth at some point and create litter. We believe that we have to act now to protect our members and our industry!” BAPIA believes that the only way to protect the balloon industry is to set some standards that will set us out as an environmentally responsible industry made up of environmentally responsible professionals. John went on to say “As always, BAPIA is looking to increase the professionalism within the balloon and party industry and is currently looking at a strategy to do this and to help safeguard the future of our members and the industry as a whole.” We recently carried out a survey of our members in order to establish how they feel regarding balloon releases and there was an overwhelming response from members who felt that BAPIA should no longer support balloon releases. We have therefore taken the step of announcing that BAPIA no longer supports balloon releases and would ask that our members follow this lead. We have created a press release and a small banner for members to use to show their customers that they support this environmentally responsible decision. |
PEBA - Pro Environment Balloon Alliance (Australia based organisation) Latex Balloons and the Environment EBPC - European Balloon and Party Council Our position on balloon releases |