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!
