I have had such a bee in my bonnet over this for years now. Every time I see a charity or cause mass releasing balloons to get publicity on the TV news, I cringe.
So I was glad to see that finally, it's being given attention and couldn't resist posting. I'm sure that most people who mass release balloons just don't realise the damage they cause.
So if you're thinking of a mass release - please think again!
Marine conservationists are calling for a ban on mass balloon releases because of the problems the balloons can eventually cause for wildlife.
Balloon releases have become popular to mark charities or to remember those who have died or are missing.
But the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) says organisers of balloon releases should look for different ways to publicise their cause.
The MCS says animals have died from eating discarded balloons.
It has photographs of dead marine birds and mammals washed up on the beach in Blackpool.
A graphic photo from the examination of a dead turtle shows an old balloon in its gut. The suspicion is that the turtle thought the brightly coloured fragment floating on the water was something edible.
It appears the consequences were fatal.
There is also an image of a decomposed razorbill - a bird which lives on islands off the British coast during the breeding season - with its legs entangled in the string from a balloon.
It is not clear if this is what killed the bird, but it certainly would have hindered its mobility.
Gill Bell, from the MCS, says the problem is getting worse year after year.
"In the last 10 years we have seen a 260% increase in the number of balloons we are finding on our beaches.
"And we know that these are just the balloons on the beaches. We believe there are many more in the water.
"A recent international survey found nearly 60,000 balloons over a two-day period last year. Who knows how many are in the sea. It's vast and we just don't know."
I met Gill in the harbour at Seahouses in Northumberland. The area off the coast here around the Farne Islands is a European Marine Reserve, but still there is evidence of balloon pollution.
Gill Bell of the Marine Conservation Society on alternatives to balloon releases
In a 100m stretch of beach we find two balloons and their strings tangled up in clumps of seaweed.
We are joined by Mike Hosken who lives in the village. He combines walking his dog with regular litter picking on a stretch of beach between Seahouses and neighbouring Beadnell.
He often finds old balloons and, if he can identify where they have come from, he sends them back.
"One of the recent cases - and remember we are on the north-east coast - was a balloon from Gloucester city.
"They come from everywhere. Statistically it may not be a huge pollution, but it's wrong and needless."
The MCS is now trying to persuade local authorities and organisers of balloon releases to do something different.
They say they are not being killjoys, but suggest that balloons are just filled with air rather then helium. It's the helium balloons that float high up into the air and drift for miles.
They have had some luck. A car dealer filled a car with balloons rather then releasing them.
Here in Northumberland, a local supermarket in Alnwick was also persuaded not to release hundreds of balloons because of concerns for wildlife.
They acknowledge that some balloons are biodegradable, but argue this is a very slow process, especially in water.
They also believe that if people spared a thought for where the balloons they release may end up, they may decide not to let them go in the first place.
LabRat
(Source: BBC News)
