Balloon and Ribbon
Latex or mylar balloon
Markings and exact colorations may vary.
Deflated balloons and their ribbons, a leading cause of sea turtle and seabird deaths.
- Typical size
- Any size
- How often it turns up
- Common
- Collecting
- Usually legal to collect
- Handling
- Safe to handle
Bag it and bin it. Cut ribbons into short lengths before disposal.
How to tell it apart
- Shrivelled latex or shiny mylar
- Long curling ribbon still attached
- Often mistaken for jellyfish by turtles
Found one?
Photograph it and BeachNut ranks the likely matches with a confidence read, then logs it to your collection with the beach and date.
Browsing beaches and the full field guide is free. A free account logs unlimited finds and gives you three photo identifications a day.
More marine debris in the field guide
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