# Am I Littering When I Release a Helium Balloon? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 22, 2012, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-littering-when-i-release-a-helium-balloon/644866 "2012-12-22T20:24:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![listedmia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e0b2c6/32.png) [@listedmia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/listedmia)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-littering-when-i-release-a-helium-balloon/644866/21 "2013-01-15T11:15:09Z")
> [@PlainJain](#): > > Of course it is. > > Now allow me a wee rant. I hike a lot in the wilderness. You would not believe the number of Mylar balloons I’ve run across. There is nothing like having a beautiful meadow view spoiled by a red heart shaped balloon that says Happy Birthday. Once I got lost and was bush whacking through some terribly dense underbrush only to find myself face to face with a goofy grinning Micky Mouse balloon. Arrggghh!! I could reel off other episodes as well. I hate, hate, hate them as litter. > > Don’t throw trash out of your car window, don’t throw your cigarette butts on the side walk and don’t fucking release balloons. Please. > > [/wee rant] I understand that it sucks to find them in the wilderness, but I would assume that most of those balloons were accidentally released by children. A local grocery store would give balloons to all the kids who came through the checkout line when I was little, and I would pretty much lose every single one of them unless it was tied to my wrist. I’ve also been in a few stores which have balloons permanently stuck to the ceiling, and I’m pretty sure nobody purposefully released them there. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-littering-when-i-release-a-helium-balloon/644866/22 "2013-01-15T12:16:04Z")
> [@listedmia](#): > > I understand that it sucks to find them in the wilderness, but I would assume that most of those balloons were accidentally released by children. A local grocery store would give balloons to all the kids who came through the checkout line when I was little, and I would pretty much lose every single one of them unless it was tied to my wrist. I’ve also been in a few stores which have balloons permanently stuck to the ceiling, and I’m pretty sure nobody purposefully released them there. Well, then teach the kids to be careful with them 🙂 If a kid drops a candy bar wrapper while walking, I hope you don’t just smile and go “Oops, oh well!” If a balloon flies away, next time I’d hope the parent would say “Remember what happened last time? This time we’ll tie it around your wrist so you can keep it for longer and so it doesn’t pollute the environment!” ---
**Author:** ![cjepson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9adbd/32.png) [@cjepson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cjepson)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-littering-when-i-release-a-helium-balloon/644866/23 "2013-01-15T15:51:34Z")
> [@PlainJain](#): > > I hike a lot in the wilderness. You would not believe the number of Mylar balloons I’ve run across. There is nothing like having a beautiful meadow view spoiled by a red heart shaped balloon that says Happy Birthday. Once I got lost and was bush whacking through some terribly dense underbrush only to find myself face to face with a goofy grinning Micky Mouse balloon. And it’s not just the wilderness. Imagine that you live in a house with a nice, scenic wooded lot. You wake up one morning to find a large Mylar balloon stuck up high in a tree. You have the choice of hiring someone to get it down or having that piece of crap in your yard for years. ---
**Author:** ![Fubaya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/c2a13f/32.png) [@Fubaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fubaya)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-littering-when-i-release-a-helium-balloon/644866/24 "2013-01-15T16:51:43Z")
I’ve always mused about this in regards to the National Weather Service because they release 75,000 weather balloons a year. No one in their right mind would charge them with littering, but it seems strange that the government would be to allowed to do something that is illegal on a daily basis. Not that I think the government is a angel, just that their lawyers wouldn’t ok it. I guess since their instruments are contained in a postage paid package that they hope people will return, that gets around most littering laws. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-littering-when-i-release-a-helium-balloon/644866/25 "2013-01-15T18:22:04Z")
> [@PlainJain](#): > > Now allow me a wee rant. I hike a lot in the wilderness. You would not believe the number of Mylar balloons I’ve run across. Similar results here. A couple of times a week I walk the beaches on the S end of Lake Michigan. It is an unusual week that I don’t see at least one balloon washed up - and quite often there are more than one. Now what I want to know is if you committed suicide by hanging yourself from a weather balloon that drifted across various state lines as you slowly strangled, your sphincter loosened, and you began to decompose - which state has to fill out the death certificate? ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-littering-when-i-release-a-helium-balloon/644866/26 "2013-01-15T18:37:38Z")
> [@PlainJain](#): > > Now allow me a wee rant. I hike a lot in the wilderness. You would not believe the number of Mylar balloons I’ve run across. Yep, October I was on a cattle drive on our S.E. Colorado ranch and miles from civilization out on the sagebrush plains. Moving up the trail I’m surprised to see a purple mylar balloon that’s hung on some sage. There’s still a little helium left as it’s hanging droopily but still upright. I got off my ATV and walked over to get a picture, thinking maybe I’d do a “Where party ballons go to die” thread, and then dispose of it in my saddlebag. Just before I reached it though a wisp of wind caught it and carried it off aways to the hill where the B-52 crashed decades back. So the only manmade piece of litter I saw all day ended up where a number of our servicemen lost their lives years ago. While that hardly constitutes a tragedy in anyone’s book, it is kinda sad nevertheless. ---
**Author:** ![butler1850](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@butler1850](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/butler1850)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-littering-when-i-release-a-helium-balloon/644866/27 "2013-01-15T21:20:51Z")
How about “Chinese lanterns?” These are paper ‘globes’ that are filled with hot air from a burning fuel source at it’s base? These fly pretty high and far once they lift off… especially if there is a bit of wind at altitude. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2013, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-littering-when-i-release-a-helium-balloon/644866/28 "2013-01-15T21:28:52Z")
> [@butler1850](#): > > How about “Chinese lanterns?” These are paper ‘globes’ that are filled with hot air from a burning fuel source at it’s base? > > These fly pretty high and far once they lift off… especially if there is a bit of wind at altitude. At least those are biodegradable. ---
**Author:** ![FrankJBN](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f0a364/32.png) [@FrankJBN](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FrankJBN)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-littering-when-i-release-a-helium-balloon/644866/29 "2013-01-16T21:20:48Z")
“Litter - any solid or liquid material or product or combination of solid or liquid materials or products, including, but not limited to: any rubbish, refuse, garbage, paper, package, container, bottle, can, manure, or sewage or the whole or a part of an animal carcass or the whole or part of any article, raw or processed material, Motor Vehicle or other machinery, that is disposed of;” That’s a pretty lousy definition. I dispose of pounds of rubbish and garbage weekly, none of which is litter. When one flushes the toilet, one is disposing of excrement, pour that last inch in the beer bottle down the drain, that’s been disposed. Just a guess, litter laws are not used for the release of baloons because they are not yet litter when flying away. In theory, a ballon released in the middle of texas could float to another state. Not surprisingly, most states do not prohibit littering in other states. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-littering-when-i-release-a-helium-balloon/644866/30 "2013-01-16T22:04:56Z")
> [@FrankJBN](#): > > In theory, a ballon released in the middle of texas could float to another state. Not surprisingly, most states do not prohibit littering in other states. I didn’t find any corroborating sources, but apparently one person was (federally) [charged with littering and sentenced to prison for leaving water bottles along the US-Mexico border for crossers](http://www.alternet.org/story/144520/25_days_in_federal_prison_for_littering_border_patrol_cracking_down_on_human_rights_activists). Damned if I could find the relevant laws on the books. Edit: Actually, [this story](http://waste360.com/Waste_Legislation/water-bottles-for-illegals-201012) has more detail and cites the relevant court case. ---
**Author:** ![Maastricht](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e57/32.png) [@Maastricht](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maastricht)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2013, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-littering-when-i-release-a-helium-balloon/644866/31 "2013-01-16T22:16:24Z")
Only recently people have understood how harmful balloons can be for animals that accidentally swallow them. Not just because of the long shards that clog up intestines untill the animal starves, but also because of the attached cord that is very dangerous. [Sad picture of sea bird dead because his beak is wound shut with a balloon cord.](http://ts2.mm.bing.net/th?id=H.4847584389303069&pid=15.1) ---
**Author:** ![ekedolphin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ekedolphin/32/10003_2.png) [@ekedolphin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ekedolphin)\ **Post date:** [January 18, 2013, 6:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-littering-when-i-release-a-helium-balloon/644866/32 "2013-01-18T06:18:24Z")
> [@Maastricht](#): > > Only recently people have understood how harmful balloons can be for animals that accidentally swallow them. Not just because of the long shards that clog up intestines untill the animal starves, but also because of the attached cord that is very dangerous. [Sad picture of sea bird dead because his beak is wound shut with a balloon cord.](http://ts2.mm.bing.net/th?id=H.4847584389303069&pid=15.1) If by “recently” you mean “21 years ago”. I’m pretty sure balloons were covered in the 1992 book _50 Simple Things Kids Can Do to Save the Earth,_ which was distributed to me and every other fourth-grader when it came out. ---
**Author:** ![tompitch4d](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f1d935/32.png) [@tompitch4d](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tompitch4d)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2013, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-littering-when-i-release-a-helium-balloon/644866/33 "2013-01-19T14:23:55Z")
Thank you, I will investigate the littering angle with an attorney who represents the solid waste industry. Everywhere I look I find examples of this form of sanctioned littering so it must not be against the law or it lands squarely in a gray area. For example both Clemson University and the University of Nebraska release thousands of helium balloons as part of their home football games. Here is an example. [http://www.thetigernews.com/news.php?aid=6656&sid=1](http://www.thetigernews.com/news.php?aid=6656&sid=1) ---
**Author:** ![tompitch4d](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f1d935/32.png) [@tompitch4d](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tompitch4d)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2013, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-littering-when-i-release-a-helium-balloon/644866/34 "2013-02-26T13:40:49Z")
A Florida man is charged with a third-degree felony for releasing balloons near wildlife. > **[Man's Romantic Balloon Gesture a Felony: Florida](https://www.newser.com/story/163407/mans-romantic-balloon-gesture-a-felony-florida.html)** > > Anthony Brasfield faces felony under environmental crime statute ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2013, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-littering-when-i-release-a-helium-balloon/644866/35 "2013-02-26T13:48:52Z")
> [@Duckster](#): > > You are also contributing to the world-wide [helium shortage](https://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/20/us/a-helium-shortage-leads-to-fewer-balloons-in-the-sky.html?_r=0). [tiny voice]The world-wide helium shortage is no joke! _stamps foot_ Why won’t anyone take me seriously?![/tiny voice] . ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2013, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-littering-when-i-release-a-helium-balloon/644866/36 "2013-02-26T15:00:45Z")
> [@butler1850](#): > > How about “Chinese lanterns?” These are paper ‘globes’ that are filled with hot air from a burning fuel source at it’s base? > > These fly pretty high and far once they lift off… especially if there is a bit of wind at altitude. > [@Ethilrist](#): > > At least those are biodegradable. also illegal in places around the world because they start fires. ---
**Author:** ![Curious\_Mike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f04885/32.png) [@Curious\_Mike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Curious_Mike)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2013, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-littering-when-i-release-a-helium-balloon/644866/37 "2013-02-26T20:16:53Z")
Saw this in the news today. [http://http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/crime/fl-helium-balloon-environmental-crime-20130222,0,3220328.story](http://http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/crime/fl-helium-balloon-environmental-crime-20130222,0,3220328.story) They charged this guy with a felony. He could get as much as five years for releasing a group of mylar balloons. ---
**Author:** ![moriah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b2d939/32.png) [@moriah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moriah)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2013, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-littering-when-i-release-a-helium-balloon/644866/38 "2013-02-26T21:06:53Z")
> [@tompitch4d](#): > > A Florida man is charged with a third-degree felony for releasing balloons near wildlife. > > [Man's Romantic Balloon Gesture a Felony: Florida](http://www.newser.com/story/163407/mans-romantic-balloon-gesture-a-felony-florida.html) When you release balloons that would harm the birds on a wildlife swamp, you’d feel bad about it at first, but then you’d have no more egrets. ---
**Author:** ![Bob\_X](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@Bob\_X](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bob_X)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2013, 9:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-littering-when-i-release-a-helium-balloon/644866/39 "2013-02-26T21:19:14Z")
> [@moriah](#): > > When you release balloons that would harm the birds on a wildlife swamp, you’d feel bad about it at first, but then you’d have no more egrets. But he didn’t know they were in the swamp: really, you had to crane to even see them. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2013, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-littering-when-i-release-a-helium-balloon/644866/40 "2013-02-26T21:36:12Z")
[Yes](http://touch.sun-sentinel.com/#section/-1/article/p2p-74532061/), according in Florida police, as of today. (Hasn’t been tried yet.) Violation of Florida Air and Water Pollution Control Act. Third degree felony. Maximum five years in the clink. Be very, very careful in Disneyland. Also, you might fuck up a NASA launch, somehow. Or poke someone’s eye out. ETA: Damn. Ninja’ed. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-littering-when-i-release-a-helium-balloon/644866.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/am-i-littering-when-i-release-a-helium-balloon/644866.md?page=3)