CLEVELAND — Cleveland City Council introduced an ordinance on Monday that would ban the intentional release of balloons into the air. 

 

What You Need To Know

  • The Cleveland City Council is proposing a ban on the intentional release of balloons

  • The proposed ordinance cites the environmental impacts of balloons

  • The ordinance would be punishable as a minor misdemeanor

  • The ordinance was first read by City Council on Monday

 

The ordinance says that the intentional release of 10 or more balloons during a 24-hour period would be prohibited within Cleveland city limits under the ordinance. 

The ordinance, if approved, would be added to the city’s littering law. Littering in the city of Cleveland is punishable as a minor misdemeanor. 

The law would give exemptions for weather balloons, hot air balloons recovered after launching and balloons released indoors. 

The ordinance notes that several states, including California, Florida and Virginia, have similar laws. The city of Toledo has a law that also prohibits the release of balloons into the air.

Cleveland City Council cites the environmental impact of balloons in the proposed ordinance and the potential power outages that released balloons can cause. Cleveland Public Power says that mylar and foil balloons are capable of knocking out power and causing electrical fires when they come in contact with power lines. 

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. 

 

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