Disposal of balloons

When the party is over how should we dispose of balloons?

It all depends on what they are made of:

Latex Balloons
Latex is made from the natural rubber tapped from the Hevea tree.

As latex is biodegradable, they can go in the bin. 
The worst thing to happen to latex balloons is ending up in the ocean. They are a risk to marine animals and may mistake the balloon for food. Also, they could take between 1 year and 3 years to decompose fully.

Please dispose of Latex Balloons in your household waste where they will decompose in a landfill.

Mylar balloons
Mylar balloons are made with nylon that have a metallic coating which are recyclable but not biodegradable. They will be in the landfills forever, so recycle them along with your recyclable plastics.


Re-use rather than recycle! The best alternative to recycling Mylar Balloons is simply to save them to be re-inflated on another occasion. Mylar balloons are fragile! We cannot guarantee that it will work every time as they are fairly delicate but it is worth a try. If you insert a straw at least 6- 8 inches in length up into the hole where it was originally inflated, you can press out the remaining helium in order to store the balloons flat ready to re-inflate when you next need them!


Please flatten, store and re-use your Mylar Balloons when possible.

Don't let go! We love balloons, but we love the environment too.