CLEVELAND — Cleveland City Council members voted Monday night to ban the release of 10 or more balloons in a setting — an eco-friendly move that's been implemented in other cities. 

What You Need To Know

  • The ordinance is a part of Cleveland's littering law, meaning violators will face a minor misdemeanor citation and a $150 fine

  • The ban includes both latex and mylar balloons

  • The ban, seen in other cities and states, is aimed at preventing power outages, fires and to protect the Great Lakes

The ordinance is a part of Cleveland's littering law, meaning violators will face a minor misdemeanor citation and a $150 fine.

Council members voted in favor of the ban because of the issue with power outages when balloons get caught in power lines, which also poses a fire risk.

The move was also made to protect Lake Erie. According to the Alliance for the Great Lakes, an environmental nonprofit, more than 18,000 pieces of balloons or balloon strings were found along the shorelines between 2016 and 2018. 

Toledo is another Ohio city that also has a 10 or less limit for balloon releases. A handful of states have enacted similar legislation, including California, Connecticut, Florida, Tennessee and Virginia. 

Cleveland's ban includes both mylar and latex balloons. Mylar was of main concern due to the amount that get caught in powerlines. 

The ordinance comes 35 years after the most infamous balloon release in Cleveland history — Balloonfest ‘86. According to Case Western Reserve University, 1.5 million balloons were filled as part of a fundraiser for the United Way. The balloon release caused Burke Lakefront Airport to close its runway and prevented the Coast Guard from finding two fishermen on Lake Erie, CWRU wrote. 

CWRU noted that balloons from downtown Cleveland were found weeks later on the Lake Erie beaches of Ontario. 

Senior Producer Justin Boggs contributed to this story.

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