McDonald’s Photos Will Make Parents Never Give Their Child a Balloon Again

A balloon that comes with McDonald’s Happy Meals in the UK may be killing the world’s [...]

By Allison Schonter

A balloon that comes with McDonald's Happy Meals in the UK may be killing the world's oceans.

Blue Planet Society, a group that raises awareness about overexploitation of the world's oceans, has started a new campaign to lobby fast food giant McDonald's to do away with their plastic balloons that are available at their British restaurants after a series of images showed the balloons washed up on coastlines.

Blue Planet Society founder John Hourston told The Sun that the balloons are washing up onshore at an alarming rate of nearly one a day, or 10-15 per day on the Danish island of Fanoe, and calls the ordeal a "ticking time bomb," not only for the health of the oceans, but also the health of the creatures who rely on the oceans for survival.

"We've collected 300 images in about a year, nearly one a day," Hourston said. "In the marine environment, balloons are unlike any other form of human waste - they mimic marine food."

According to Hourston, the plastic balloons blow up if they make it to the atmosphere, shredding the plastic into tiny fragments that end up falling to the ground. Those tiny fragments, along with the balloons that remain intact, can "end up in the stomachs of seabirds, turtles, whales, and dolphins."

Hourston even stated that nanoplastics, which form after plastics have been in the marine environment for months or years, "are so small that they could be absorbed through the gut walls of humans," and that "they are a lethal form of airborn litter."

Hourston has even taken his lobbying to the head of the Golden Arches himself, having written British CEO of McDonald's, Steve Easterbrook, calling the Happy Meal balloons "the gateway for McDonald's to hooking kids into fast-food and for some reason they seem abnormally attached to the idea."

McDonald's has responded to the images and Hourston's pleas, claiming that they "strive to be a good neighbor in all the communities," though the balloons are still available at several restaurants.

"Helium balloons are no longer in use in the majority of our coastal restaurants. We strive to be a good neighbour in all the communities we operate in and work closely with our suppliers to ensure all of our balloons are made from biodegradable materials," a spokesperson said. "We have taken a number of steps to encourage customers to dispose of litter responsibly, and are currently in the process of replacing all helium balloons with stick balloons in coastal restaurants. Our priority remains to provide our customers with the correct messaging on waste disposal and ensure we play our part in keeping the environment litter free."

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