As summer celebrations fill the skies with balloons, a Duke student wants to change a tradition she says leaves a lasting mark on the environment. “When those balloons deflate, they float back down to earth,” said Ariane Lemaire, an environmental science and marine science student. “Eventually they enter our rivers, and then they float to the ocean.”
She launched a statewide campaign to reduce balloon litter through education, citizen science and environmental awareness. Her campaign comes as N.C. Senate Bill 20, which would prohibit certain mass balloon releases in North Carolina and impose a $250 civil penalty, remains stalled in the General Assembly after being referred to committee months ago.
Several coastal communities have adopted their own restrictions, including Dare, Currituck counties and the towns of Duck, Kitty Hawk, Kill Devil Hills, Nags Head and Southern Shores, where balloon debris has become a recurring problem along beaches.