Part Two:
PARTY BALLOONS: ENVIRONMENTALLY SPEAKING & ARRANGING BUNCHES
Contrary to the unfortunately popular and the obviously misinformed opinion of far too many self-opinionated armchair greenies the latex used to make the hundreds of millions ‘toy/party latex balloons’ used around the world every year really does grow on trees and really is a 100% naturally biodegradable product that should never be confused with plastic.
Proven to be no more harmful than a pile of composting garden waste a latex balloon will completely ‘break down’ in a few months. In fact, the balloon begins this process the moment it is formed. Evidence of this deterioration process that occurs in latex can be seen when an inflated balloon is exposed to the ultraviolet rays of the Sun for even the shortest time.
The once shiny surface of the balloon becomes dull and ‘velvet-like’ in less than an hour due to the natural oxidation process. Gradually the membrane weakens and the balloon’s integrity along with its ability to retain a gas is seriously compromised. This of course causes the balloon to deflate and it soon becomes what resembles a messy blob of ‘goo’ which gradually dries up and disappears.
The latex used to form the balloon (and many other products) begins its life when it is painstakingly harvested from the Hevea brasiliensis, or the Pará rubber tree which originates from the Amazon rainforest. On vast plantations in Southeast Asia and South America, the tree’s growth is restricted to around 20mt. and the ‘rubber tapping’ is manually performed when the tree is cut in a spiral pattern up the tree for as much as 15mt. The tree’s sap/latex, a milky liquid, is slowly drip-fed into a bucket and later treated a process known as vulcanization to produce everything from gloves, car parts, household items and of course the ever-popular, fun provoking latex balloon.
Being able to continuously provide this precious sap for in excess of 50 years makes the Para rubber tree a truly sustainable natural resource. The Para is one of the main forms of vegetation in tropical rainforests, which are crucial to maintaining the earth’s fragile ecological balance and revitalizing the suspected depleting ozone layer.
Conservative reports indicate that the world annually requires the latex from over 16-million trees that, in total take up more than 363-million kilograms of CO2 gases from the atmosphere. It is clearly obvious that the more latex we use, the more we need plantations of Hevea trees, which cannot be a bad thing for the planet. Actually, when you buy a balloon you help save a tree when you decorate with balloons and help save a forest.
A full report pertaining to the degeneration and the making of the balloon can be found online at www.balloonhq.com/faq/deco_releases/release_study.html or http://www.balloonhq.com/faq/making.html
Because the biodegrading of a balloon begins the moment it is exposed to the elements it is best to protect it’s fragile form from the harmful effects of sunlight and humidity by keeping it stored in a dry and shaded location preferably in the original packaging. A quality balloon should last more than a year before it becomes potentially un-inflatable.
In addition to this, the Helium used to lift the balloon is an odourless, non-toxic, colourless, inert gas. It is the second lightest and the second most abundant element available in the universe. Simultaneously discovered in 1868 by the astronomers Frenchman Jules Janssen and Englishman Norman Lockyer when they detected helium to be present in the atmosphere and duly named it after the Greek Sun God, Helios.
Helium escapes from the balloon through the thousands of microscopic pores in the balloon’s membrane. Under normal conditions, the expected ‘float-time’ of the average helium-filled, 30cm latex party balloon, is 16-20 hours.
In 1903 large reserves of Helium were discovered as a by-product of natural gas in parts of the United States who have since been the world’s largest supplier of this precious gas which is extensively used in science, medicine and of course the festive world of the party balloon.
The practice of directly inhaling helium to create the ‘squeaky voice’ is totally unsafe and should be seriously frowned upon at all times. The munchkin voice effect may be amusing but it is a serious matter when you realize that you are filling your lungs with a gas that does not support life. Lungs filled with inert gas can cause fatal results. There have been numerous occasions where this irresponsible party trick has caused permanent injuries and even death.
When helium is dispensed correctly via a regulator to fill balloons it is completely safe, although caution should be practised at all times.
When a ‘helium-filled’ latex party/toy balloon is ‘released’ into the atmosphere, it is, depending on its size and quality, the purity of the helium, the prevailing winds, as well as the humidity and rain, expected to rise between 2.5 – 5 Km. At this height, due to the extremely low temperatures (approx 40degrees below) the latex freezes, becomes brittle and then shatters into dozens of tiny pieces under the atmospheric pressure. These tiny fragments then fall to earth and begin the process of re-bonding with nature.
As the balloon rapidly ascends to these great heights, the changes in atmospheric pressure will cause it to distort ‘n’ stretch beyond its intended size and shape provoking the ‘biodegrading process’ even more. During this time the latex membrane is weakened even further by the damaging ultraviolet radiation from the Sun causing the balloon ’surface to be almost instantly covered with thousands of microscopic cracks. Signs of the oxidation process is visually evident as the balloon’s surface changes from a bright and shiny to a dull and velvety appearance. Clear balloons will turn milky white.
These days, being more environmentally responsible the ‘balloon industry’ increasingly considers the ‘old school’, large scale balloon releases when many thousands of balloons were released into the sky to be an ‘effect of the past’ and it is generally discouraged by responsible Balloonologists around the world. Although, this special effect is still provided for many events such as funerals, store openings, grand finals and birthdays, although it is now provided with smaller amounts of balloons.
Unlike the careless practices of last Century ………. the balloons are released with only crepe paper streamers or similar biodegradable products attached. A balloon should never be released while attached to clips, ribbons or any other non-biodegradable product.
The ‘break down’ process can be a little slower when it comes to Earthbound, tethered balloons which are affected by different atmospheric changes in an environment such as a function room, office or home. Any rise in ambient temperature will cause the invisible helium particles inside the balloon to move at an increased rate. This rapid movement provokes an increase in the number of particles that are able to escape through the super-micro size holes/pores in the balloon’s membrane. As the helium particles leave the balloon decreases in size and its float time is affected.
Under normal conditions (at sea level) the loss of helium will reduce the float time as well as expedite the ‘break down’ process. With any rise in temperature, the balloon will continue to expand with the heated gases until it loses the majority of the ‘uplifting’ helium or reaches its capacity and eventually bursts. Either way, a latex balloon will not last forever.
For an air-filled balloon the air particles are larger and take longer to escape, therefore an air-filled balloon, given the opportunity, could remain inflated, close to its original size for weeks.
The ‘float-time’ of a helium-filled can be extended by coating the balloon’s inside wall with HighFloat ©, (a type of liquid plastic) which can extend the floatability to as much as four weeks and sometimes longer. The use of HighFloat © also makes it possible to ‘line’ the inside of the balloon with accessories such as confetti or glitter and create effects with various food dyes.
In the creative world of decorative balloon displays, professional credibility is often measured by the customers’ reaction. Inconsistent sizing and the shabby, hap-hazard irregular arranging of the balloons can completely ruin any presentation. Because many installations have a short ‘setup time’ there is a need for repeatable, easy and efficient decorating methods.
Once you have correctly inflated your balloons you can either let them float to the ceiling for the no-fuss, ‘free floating’ effect or you can ‘anchor’ them to a ‘weight’ to create a Bunch. This is where it can become a bit tricky. You may be able to organize a party but can you really arrange a Bunch of Balloons?
I’ll assume you already appreciate the importance of being able to repeatedly inflate balloons to their correct size by reading my previous article in BALLOONease The Series: Part One: where explained several different methods related to manually Inflating and Sizing Balloons. Below I have prepared two additional instructions demonstrating some easy to perform ‘anywhere-anytime methods for arranging your balloons in a professional-looking balloon arrangement.
These easy methods for arranging professional-looking bunches can be utilized with either large, small and shaped balloons of many colours. Originally devised by Edelgard T O’Kelly CBAfor arranging bunches in the back of our kombi van while travelling between jobs, these two techniques allow you to continually make identical professional looking balloon bunches which will enhance the final appearance of your decoration.
NB:
Because not everybody’s fist is the same size as the person working next to you, I suggest that in order to obtain consistent looking bunches that only one person arranges the balloons. That is unless two people have the same size fists, which is of course, possible.
