A frustrated farmer took to TikTok to vent about a commonly littered item falling on the farm: balloons.
New Jersey farmer Timberline Farms (@timberlinefarmsnj) picked up another littered balloon from the crops and urged others to reconsider releasing them.
@timberlinefarmsnj I could have accidentally eaten this. #farming #newjersey #southjersey #hammonton #nj #jerseyfresh #littering ♬ original sound - Timberlinefarms
"The amount of balloons that I find on this farm…" the OP said. "This is for a 1-year-old's birthday. They ain't even going to remember this, but I will."
Releasing balloons can be beautiful, but they cause significant damage to the environment when they land. Balloons can travel for tens of miles through the air, and once they finally land, they can sit for years — maybe even forever.
Mylar balloons are not biodegradable, and they take hundreds of years to completely break down. While latex balloons are technically biodegradable, this process can take several years as well. Just because they're biodegradable doesn't mean they're not harmful; animals often ingest balloons before they can completely degrade.
Balloon litter is a bigger problem than you'd think. To date, Ocean Conservancy's annual International Coastal Cleanup has picked up over 1.8 million balloons across U.S. beaches alone.
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There are plenty of safe, sustainable alternatives to releasing balloons that can still commemorate the occasion.
Flying kites, blowing bubbles, or planting a tree are ways to commemorate without leaving behind forever plastics. Sprinkling seed bombs or seed paper is another fantastic alternative, as it makes for eco-friendly confetti and leaves a beautiful bloom of wildflowers afterward.
Viewers felt the same way about balloon releases — harmful and unnecessary.
"Makes me crazy!!!" one commenter wrote.
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No way 🙅 "Balloons are far more harmful to our society than any benefit they bring," another added. "I can't believe people still choose to pay money for them."
"Total bummer [you] have to deal with [them] that much," a third user wrote. "Same thing here at the beach."
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