North East Derbyshire District Council has introduced a charter to ban the release of sky-lanterns and helium balloons on its land, to help combat littering and the wider detrimental effects they have on the environment.
The releasing of sky-lanterns and balloons has been commonplace in the UK, however, the lanterns pose a huge fire risk to the wider area and both sky lanterns and balloons are a great danger to wildlife as they are a choking hazard and litter the environment needlessly.
The Council is committed to reducing the impacts of Climate Change in the District, and this charter signals the Authority’s intent to do as much as possible to help the local environment and wildlife.
Councillor Jeremy Kenyon, Cabinet Member for Climate Change said, “This charter is a fantastic step forward for our district. The severe negative impacts of releasing sky-lanterns and balloons on the wildlife and environment needs to be stopped”.
“There are many other environmentally friendly ways to celebrate and mark occasions than releasing objects which cause harm and distress”.
“We are committed to doing all we can to keep our district clean, safe and we are improving it where we can by introducing measures such as these to safeguard our wildlife.”
Residents can report littering and other offences on the council’s website at any time by visiting www.ne-derbyshire.gov.uk.
Environmentally friendly and safe ideas for celebrations can be found on the RSPCA website.