Sir, – Your photograph (Dáil & Seanad Report, October 18th) shows red balloons being released, with a caption starting “Problem raised”. As what goes up, comes down, where did those depicted think the balloons on long red strings were going?
From our latest Coastwatch survey, balloons are a common part of the marine litter load swept up on our shores The Dáil is within sniffing distance of the shore. So the 48 red bits of plastic on strings are likely to have come down in the sea. There they drift like jellyfish in the water. Several species of marine animals including endangered turtles are known to ingest and sometimes suffocate on balloons. Further problems are entanglement and the disintegration into micro plastic which can enter our food chain.
So could dear happy-faced balloon-releasing TDs and readers help tackle our growing addiction to flying plastic? – Yours, etc,
KARIN DUBSKY ,
Co-ordinator,
Coastwatch ,
Civil Eng,
TCD, Dublin 2.