Hiker takes matters into their own hands after noticing excess litter along beach

In a sea of trash on a 12-mile round trip beach hike, one category of items stood out for a Redditor.

As they shared on the r/DeTrashed subreddit, balloons now draw their ire as the worst piece of litter they encounter.

The post showed that there was a heaping amount of balloons for them to collect. A grocery store bag was barely able to contain the collection.

"I mostly stopped picking up other plastic trash on these long hikes, because there's just so much, and I physically can't carry it all," they shared. "The balloons (and their attendant ribbons) are the most destructive to wildlife, so they're my top priority, along with fishing gear and other plastic bags or plastic sheeting."

The situation led to major frustration for the Redditor. Because of the overwhelming amount of balloons on the beach, they left behind countless plastic bottles and cups in addition to flip-flops, toys, boating gear, and assorted Styrofoam and plastic items.

They explained why balloons irked them so much.

"The balloons make me especially angry because not only are they massively destructive to wildlife, but they're also totally unnecessary," they wrote. "Literally no one on planet Earth has ever needed a balloon."

They decried the specific practice of releasing them to "experience 30 seconds of childish joy watching it float away." The OP was on the right track with their thought process.

Fishers often observe released balloons in the water, where they pose hazards to marine life. There, seabirds and turtles can mistake them for food and ingest them, creating severe health risks. Balloons also use a finite resource in helium.

So, while they might appear to be a nice decoration for a party or a symbolic gesture to commemorate a loved one, they quickly become dangerous.

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While the efforts of the OP and other good Samaritans are to be commended, it's disheartening that people aren't aware or don't care about the damage done by careless littering.

Commenters sympathized with the OP and applauded their efforts.

"That's such an infuriating thing," one wrote. "Glad you're helping nature."

"BAN MYLAR BALLOONS!" another demanded.

"I'll be in the middle of a designated wilderness and find Mylar balloons," someone else wrote. "They are a scourge."

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