CLEVELAND — You've likely seen videos of crowds releasing balloons following a memorial or a celebration. But it's an act that's now illegal in the City of Cleveland. Brian Kazy, councilman for Ward 16, said the decision came after balloons continued to get stuck in power lines causing outages.
What You Need To Know
- Cleveland City Council approved a law making it illegal to release 10 or more balloons
- Any person or persons caught releasing large amounts of balloons could be charged with a misdemeanor
- Balloons that can be recovered after launch are exempt
"We were averaging about one per month, [what] really sparked the legislation to go through was the utility aspect of it. And then as we were digging deeper into this we realized what a pollution problem it is as well," said Kazy.
Cleveland City Council recently passed a law, in accordance with a 1976 ordinance, that makes the release of 10 or more balloons illegal. Kazy said the goal is to educate the public on the dangers balloons cause on the environment and to encourage alternative options instead.
"We need to do a good educational aspect on this ordinance as well. So we believe that starting small and then maybe, probably eventually, just banning them altogether would be the goal. But we didn't want to just end it altogether without the knowledge of people who actually do release balloons into the environment," said Kazy.
If you are caught releasing more than 10 balloons, you can be charged with a misdemeanor. Weather balloons and hot air balloons recovered after launch are exempted from the law.