Pet Peeve: Mylar Balloons

by Tim Burris, Mariton Preserve Manager

Nothing says:  “I love you.” like remembering.  A new baby, a birthday, a wedding, an anniversary, a retirement; all are events in our lives worth remembering.  You can do that with a simple phone call or an email.  A card, flowers and balloons are all great ways to say you are thinking about that person.

I have no problem with using mylar balloons to commemorate a special event.  I do, however, have a problem when someone leaves them out for days and days until the ribbon breaks and the balloons float away to land somewhere else.  At that point they are trash, and no longer a sign of love.

I find discarded balloons every month of the year at Mariton.  They get tangled in brush or in treetops.  Do you think wildlife is attracted, or repelled by these crinkly, bright, moving objects in their home?  I can still read, “It’s a Boy!”, but it doesn’t matter; it is just another piece of trash.  You would not throw your old birthday cards in your neighbor’s yard.  Would you dump a wilted bouquet of flowers on their patio?  So, after the special event go outside and take the balloons off the mailbox and put them inside.  Dispose of them properly when they deflate.

Remember that throwing a piece of trash on someone else’s property doesn’t really say I love you.