Scientists Hope Biodegradable 'Bioloons' Blow Up as Party Picks

When a balloon drifts away, that’s usually the last you’ll see of it. But in truth, it's going to land somewhere. It’s bound to find its way to the ground or into a waterway. Once there, it'll likely stick around for years. It can take hundreds of years to break down. And a balloon can slowly leach toxins into the environment and present a hazard for wildlife.  

Unless it’s a “bioloon,” researchers at Imperial College London claim.

Entrepreneur Charlotte Melia and PhD candidate Juliana Cumming have created a substance from a new biodegradable polymer that avoids many of the chemicals often added to the natural latex used to make balloons. It can be inflated, floated, and bopped around just like a normal balloon. The difference? A “bioloon” takes nine months to biodegrade. That's compared to 450 years or more for balloons on the market today.   

"I was a party planner for over 10 years and ... I was very sustainably focused. The final stumbling block for me was the balloon waste," Melia told Agence France-Presse. She and her business partner helped fund the research. Cumming ran hundreds of failed bioloon trials before she nailed down the right mix.  

Around the world, about 20 billion to 25 billion balloons are purchased each year. Those that end up in the environment pose a real threat to animals. A 2019 study suggested that birds who ingest balloons are 32 times more likely to die from doing so than those that eat harder plastics. 

Melia and Cumming hope to make many more bioloons. They also believe the new technology could be used for other things. That could include biodegradable surgical gloves, clothing, and health products.   

Reflect: What's one everyday object you'd want to reinvent to make it kinder to the planet?

Gif of balloons from Giphy.