Releasing inflated balloons is now illegal across most of the Outer Banks.
Last week, the Dare County Board of Commissioners adopted a measure banning the intentional release of balloons within unincorporated areas of the county. Violators will face a hefty $250 fine.
The county action followed similar votes in recent months in five of the county’s six towns. In April, Duck became the first to adopt a ban, with a civil penalty of $250 for violators. On May 1, Nags Head commissioners approved a ban with a $50 fine, followed by Southern Shores on May 7 with a $250 fine, Kitty Hawk on June 3 with a $250 fine and Kill Devil Hills on July 8 with a $25 fine.
Earlier this year, Southern Shores resident Debbie Swick spearheaded an effort to make the release of balloons illegal on the Outer Banks and across the state, launching “Ban Balloon Release in North Carolina” and a Change.org petition.
“Balloons are something we can control,” Swick told Dare County commissioners at the July 16 board meeting. “Not trying to make them go away, just trying to act responsibly.”
Inflated balloons are popular for graduations, gender reveals, weddings and memorials, but they can wreak havoc on the environment.
Birds, turtles and other animals commonly mistake balloons for food, which can harm or even kill them, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Marine species like dolphins, whales and turtles, as well as animals such as cows, dogs, sheep and birds have all been hurt or killed by balloons, the agency said.
Balloons can block the digestive tract, leaving animals to slowly starve to death. Animals can also become entangled in the balloon, or its ribbon, rendering them unable to move or eat.
Mylar balloons can take a century to break down, releasing microplastics “that are now inundating our oceans and affecting all of us,” Swick said.
Last year, the National Park Service picked up a record 1,786 balloons along a 70-mile stretch of Cape Hatteras National Seashore, more than double the number collected in 2022. Park biologists collected the balloons while monitoring nesting shorebirds and keeping watch over sea turtle nests.
“The release of helium balloons is a major and devastating problem everywhere, but especially to our beautiful coastline and to its inhabitants,” Swick said.
She said she’s thrilled that most Outer Banks localities have adopted a ban, but she’s not done yet.
Swick spoke last week to the Manteo and Currituck County boards of commissioners about the importance of a balloon-release ordinance and plans to send out letters to every county commissioner in North Carolina in the next few days.
“There’s still a lot of work to be done, but I couldn’t be prouder of the place that I live,” Swick said.
