Ban The Balloons

Remember plastic bags?

Certainly, they still exist and can be found in many places. But on the South Fork, in just a few years, they’ve largely disappeared. What seemed an impossible task is now just another fact of life in an environmentally sensitive area: you take your bags with you, and you almost never see something that was once a common sight — plastic bags blowing in the wind, eventually headed to the ocean to choke marine life to death.

There was a great deal of hand-wringing about that move, but it’s hard to believe anyone would convincingly argue for a return to their use. It shows that common sense and decisive action can go hand in hand and actually do some good.

So … let’s talk about balloons.

Both Southampton and East Hampton towns have banned the sale of helium or lighter-than-air filled balloons. Anyone who has ever walked the beaches can tell you, deflated Mylar and rubber balloons make up a stunning percentage of the debris found on our shores. God only knows how many are floating in the ocean at a given moment.

This is a similarly simple decision, and one that deserves quick, decisive action — the towns have done the heavy lifting. But the villages within those towns should all follow suit and act in concert, making sure that the balloon bans are effective in retail centers within the towns as well.

Balloons are festive, but they’re not harmless, especially not near marine environments. The state is considering a ban, since released or lost balloons can travel long distances, but — as with plastic bags — it’s only fitting that the South Fork should lead the way in enacting sweeping measures demonstrating our strong commitment to keeping our waters safe and clear.