Sustainability Policy
At Balloonista, we love the wonderful world that we are lucky enough to live in and are really committed to keeping our impact on it to a bare minimum.
Aside from our biodegradable products, we pride ourselves on being committed to always re-using our props and in the event that you do request us to use foil balloons for your display, we can recommend some really great ways of reusing and donating them. Obviously we cannot operate without the use of vehicles but we have invested in brand new Euro 6 ULEZ compliant vans, minimising our emissions.
Biodegradable Latex Balloons
We use high quality latex balloons, made from the sap of trees, quite widely at the Pará rubber tree (Hevea rasiliensis). These trees can produce sap for over 30 years and the latex used in our products is harvested much like maple syrup is from the Maple tree. As a guide, it will take approximately six month (the same length of time as an oak leaf) for our balloons to biodegrade. This may increase slightly due to environmental factors but it certainly won’t be in landfill for long. Latex balloons are also photodegradable – this is the process of oxidisation when in the sun; when the balloon begins to look “foggy” or “dusty”, the process is beginning.
Air filled balloons
We largely only use air to fill our balloons. However, if helium is required we use Grade 4 helium also called “Balloon Gas”. Only the Grade 6, which is the purest form, is used in science and medicine therefore the helium used by the party industry does not affect the future of the science and medicine.
We NEVER facilitate balloon releases and work hard to ensure our balloons are tied down securely. In addition, if balloons are used for your event, we give advice on ways to avoid the balloons escaping into the atmosphere.
Reusing balloons
There are many ways that you can reuse balloons and even if you can’t personally find something for them, there will be somebody that will!
We are the proud founders of Plastic Party Swap Shop on Facebook – a platform for people to share and swap used party pieces, balloons an plastic.
Re-using foil balloons
- Re-inflating them as long as they are in good condition, without damage and have their seals and valves intact, they can easily be deflated and re-inflated when required.
- Using them to make Christmas decorations – foil can easily be cut and fused together with heat to create all manner of sparkly shapes! Or simply use the foil to gift wrap presents.
- Using the foil instead of bubble wrap – inflated balloons can work incredibly well to protect precious goods in transit.
- Donating them! Schools and nurseries are always on the lookout for crafting materials and local charities may have a good use for your unwanted balloons. So always offer locally – sharing your balloons and sharing the love.
We assess the environmental impacts of our operations regularly and set objectives and targets in order to improve our environmental performance. We will regularly review these targets and look at ways to minimise our impact on the environment.
In particular, when working in central London, we are always trying to be as logistically economical as possible.
