Candy Buffets & 3 Foot Balloons

Do you have a sweet tooth? WE DO!!! Candy & dessert buffets have become more and more popular over the last few years for a huge range of occasions, such as conferences, weddings, communions and 1st birthday parties. They can be themed, colour coordinated and customised with printed wrappers, icing & embossing. Gone are the days where we spend hours shopping and filling loot bags & picking out favours for our guests prior to your event. Instead, a dessert table is available at the party so your guests can pick their own favourites to take home with them. Mmm, all this talk of candy is making me drool!

As usual, there are endless possibilities to decorating your candy buffet with balloons. We’ve found the most popular is using 3 foot balloons as a backdrop for the table. Helium filled 3 foot balloons attached to a weight can sit on the floor behind the table. Not only are these balloons eye catching & bold, but they’re rarely seen at most parties so your guest will be blown away! Of course you can match the balloon colours and printing to your table theme. If you would like a bit more pizazz, we can add feathers, fairy lights, small balloon clusters, or turn the 3 foot balloons into gumballs which have 5 inch balloons inside.

If you don’t know where to start & aren’t sure if you want to DIY or hire everything complete, we did a quick Google search & found heaps of companies that specialise in candy buffets. Here are some Sydney based ones that we liked to get you into inspiration overload:

http://www.sydneycandybuffets.com.au/#!

http://www.candybarsydney.com.au/

http://www.lifeissweetbuffets.com.au/

The Myth about Balloons as Litter

Further to our last post regarding Balloons & the Environment, I have attached some information provided by BASA (Balloon Artists & Suppliers Association) to its' members this month, which applies directly to us here in Australia, rather than the international studies we always read about. 

A big thank you goes out to Bill Gray & Maureen Egan for providing us with this information, it has been a huge eye opener & we hope that it helps to educate those who are unsure or disapproving of balloons. 

Below are the summarized results from reports by Clean Up Australia and Keep Australia Beautiful. 

Clean Up Australia:

This organisation has produced a Rubbish Report each year since 1991, which is a snapshot of waste collected on Clean Up Australia Day. The Rubbish Report has proven to be an invaluable resource in identifying trends in the types and spread of rubbish throughout Australia. 

In 2011 Report , there were 7,479 registered sites. 2,639 or 35% were analysed 

Top Ten Rubbish Items were, 1) cigarette butts 2) glass bottles (alcohol and soft drink) 3) plastic drink bottles PET drink bottles 4) aluminium cans ( alcohol and soft drink) 5) plastic bags 6) plastic chip and confectionary bags 7) plastic bottle tops 8) metal bottle tops 9) small paper pieces 10) metal foil confectionary wrappers. No Balloons ! 

Beach/ coastal sites had the most rubbish items (a staggering 35,988items) of all sites surveyed with an average of 205 items per site surveyed. Rivers and creeks moved from fifth in 2010 to second most polluted site type with over 90 average items at each site surveyed. Beach coastal sites ranked highest for miscellaneous items , glass and plastic items 48%,19% and 17% as a percentage of each site types rubbish composition. Note rubber has its own category, and at beaches/coastal total rubber was 1% 

Rubber, in 2011 rubber was the smallest category of waste at just over 1% which was consistent with 2010 results. The most common significant rubber item found was rubber gloves, which account for 46% of all rubber followed by thongs 25% and tyres 22%...............Balloons not even listed! (Miscellaneous items include cigarette butts (92%), clothing, food scraps, ceramics, car parts and batteries)............No Balloons!"

Keep Australia Beautiful 

KAB produce a report each year called the National Litter Index. It is funded by every Australian State or Territory Government. The 2010/ 2011 Report was compiled by McGregor Tan Research in South Australia and is a 177 page in depth analytical report on litter 

Summary: The filthy five are Cigarette butts, plastic, paper/cardboard, metal and glass..No Rubber. 

 The results here are expressed two ways:- items per 1000m2 and by volume per 1000m2 Total sites surveyed were 983 Nationally, including Beach, Car Park, Highway, Industrial, Recreational Park, Residential, Retail and Shopping Centre. Total area surveyed 1,499,791 sq mtrs 

The Facts: The major categories are further divided into items which are very extensive in detail. 

The only reference to Rubber appears in Miscellaneous.....Rubber pieces (not tyres) averaged is listed as 0.0001 litres per 1,000sq metres. Miscellaneous includes items such as syringes, ice cream sticks, condoms, disposable nappies, clothing and materials, tyres and pieces........No Balloons category!

Balloons: Facts about the Environment

Balloons were invented in 1824 and have been used to celebrate events worldwide, from political conventions and store grand openings to birthday parties and get well gifts. Balloons are the most cost effective and efficient way to decorate any space. Before we can help you do so, we’d like to take this opportunity to tell you some facts and fiction about balloons. 

Our latex balloons are made from rubber trees and are 100% biodegradable, decomposing at about the same rate as an oak leaf.  We work closely with the balloon industry both in Australia and internationally, to promote education and awareness to ensure that our balloons are handled safely and responsibly by consumers, as well as disposed of properly. 

One of the main concerns is the inhalation of the balloon gas, helium. Helium is non-toxic and non-flammable. It has become socially acceptable to inhale helium as a party trick to change your voice. This is a dangerous practice and must be discouraged at all times as it can lead to suffocation or even death. 

There are practices and guidelines put into place in order to preserve the environment. Foil and latex balloons are weighted down to prevent accidental release.  In NSW, there is legislation to restrict balloon releases. No more than 20 balloons can be released and these must be free of any plastic attachments or ribbon. Mass balloon releases that occur internationally are only conducted by professional balloon decorators, and therefore adhere to the industry standards. 

Compared to other categories of litter, such as plastic items, cans and bottles, balloon litter is extremely minimal.  To date, there is no direct scientific evidence to prove that balloons have been the cause of death to any sea animals. However, as an industry we are continuing consumer education and balloon management practices in order to maintain the results of this research. 

We hope that you value this information and use it to educate others and handle balloons properly. If you would like to read more about this, please visit the following websites:

http://www.qualatex.com/pages/facts_fun.php

http://www.balloonhq.com/BalloonCouncil/facts.html