Dare County Commissioners have unanimously approved a balloon release ban within unincorporated areas.
They added it to the county's littering ordinance. Wildlife advocates argue balloons can harm marine animals, who mistake them for food. Those caught violating the ordinance will pay a $250 fine.
But some believe the ban isn't necessary. That includes Rodanthe resident Rick Shaften, who spoke during Tuesday's meeting.
“If you have a problem with littering, put signs up saying don't litter,” Shaften said. “That's going to do as much as any video, any law, or anything else. We're passing too many laws. We're not enforcing the ones we have. We have laws against people shooting [bottle] rockets off. Nobody enforces those laws either.”
But, Debbie Swick, the founder of Ban Balloon Release in North Carolina, spoke in favor of the ban during Tuesday’s meeting. She said balloons have caused a considerable amount of litter on the coastline in the Outer Banks.
“The National Park Service last year picked up 1,786 balloons along a 70-mile stretch of coastline,” said Swick. “The year before that was 733. It increased over 1,000.”
Situations that don’t fall under the ban include balloons released by a person on behalf of a governmental agency, hot air balloons that are recovered after launching, and balloons released inside a building, or structure that do not make their way outside.
Several towns that have similar outdoor balloon bans in Dare County include Nags Head, Duck, Kill Devil Hills, and Southern Shores.
