Worcester City Council has banned the release of balloons and sky lanterns, in a bid to reduce the harmful effects they can have on livestock, wildlife and to avoid their potential risk as a fire hazard.
Many other local authorities – including Worcestershire County Council – have already prohibited the release of balloons and lanterns, which are made of paper and are powered by a flame suspended on a wire frame, from their land.
The RSPCA, National Farmer’s Union, Marine Conservation Society and Chief Fire Officers Association (CFOA) are now calling for an outright ban.
After release, latex balloons and sky lanterns eventually return to the ground and can be mistaken for food and accidentally ingested by many species of wildlife or farm animals.
Once eaten, they can block digestive systems and cause the animal to starve.
Latex balloons, whilst biodegradable, may still persist in the environment for up to four years.
If the metal on a lantern is still hot, it can burn animals or start fires, especially during the summer months.
Animals can also become entangled and trapped by parts of lanterns and balloon strings.
In 2013 CCTV footage proved a sky lantern to be the cause of a fire at a recycling plant at Smethwick in the West Midlands.
More than 200 firefighters and 39 fire engines were deployed over several days to tackle the blaze, which destroyed 100,000 tons of recycled plastic with an estimated cost of £6m.
Following the decision which was made at last night’s Cabinet meeting, Cllr Jabba Riaz, Cabinet Member for Clean, Green and Leisure Services said: "We understand why people might view balloons and sky lanterns as a popular addition to social gatherings and events.
"However, farm animals and wildlife are clearly paying a very heavy price for this type of spectacle, and lanterns have the potential to cause serious fires.
"We have therefore decided on an outright ban of their release on all council-owned land."
The RSPCA say the following incidents have been reported to them:
• A foal had to be put to sleep after its legs were very badly injured from bolting through a fence having been terrified by a lantern
• Holly, a nine-month-old goat, died after the frame of a lantern punctured her throat
• A farmer in Chester told how a cow died when the wire from a sky lantern punctured its oesophagus after ingestion, saying “in effect she spent a long, painful 48 hours suffocating on her own feed”
• A barn owl died having become entangled in a lantern frame.
The National Farmers’ Union is also calling for an outright ban on sky lanterns and points out the fire risk they present, with fields of standing crops, hay and straw stacks, farm buildings and thatched roofs all at significant risk of being set alight.
Councils with sky lanterns banned
Many councils in the UK have already introduced bans on the release of balloons and sky lanterns on their land – including Braintree District Council; Carlisle City Council; Chesham Town Council; Cornwall County Council; Great Yarmouth Borough Council; Ipswich Borough Council; Lancaster City Council; Maldon District Council; North Norfolk District Council; Oxford City Council; Plymouth City Council; Portsmouth City Council; Redbridge Borough Council; Reigate & Banstead Borough Council; Rochford District Council; South Hams District Council; South Tyneside Council; Stockport Council; Suffolk Coastal District Council; Swindon Council; Thanet District Council; Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council; Wandsworth Borough Council; Waveney District Council; Windsor & Maidenhead Council; Worcestershire County Council; Aberdeen City Council; Aberdeenshire Council; Angus Council; Falkirk Council; Highland Council; Shetland Islands Council; Orkney Islands Council; laenau Gwent County Borough Council; Cardiff Council; Caerphilly County Borough Council; Conwy County Borough Council; Monmouthshire County Council; Pembrokeshire County Council; Belfast City Council; Coleraine Borough Council.
