Cape Town – Visitors to the Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden in Johannesburg will no longer be able to bring balloons.Other national botanical gardens, including Kirstenbosch, said balloons were allowed onto the premises, but could not be placed on the grass and tied to trees.
Visitors were encouraged to place balloons on their valuables only and not release them into the air.
As from April 1, no balloons will be allowed into the Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden - a move the facility’s management said was taken to keep the place environmentally friendly.
Spokesperson Ronny Tshabalala said balloons contained more than just natural latex; other chemicals were added which made them non-biodegradable.
“The consideration for this move is not to frustrate people from celebrating, but stems from environmental concerns.
“Birds sometimes eat the bits of latex and end up dying. These are usually left behind on trees after celebrations and they constitute litter and are just eyesores on trees.
“Hence we have decided that the decision will not be immediate, but will allow people to get used to celebrating without the use of balloons.”
Tshabalala said the garden was at the forefront of teaching the public about taking care of the environment.
“Many years ago we took a decision to banish dustbins because they were allowing baboons to come and have free meals while they thrashed the place.
“This interfered with the natural food chain as the baboons were now getting used to being fed instead of them foraging for their own food the natural way.
“This is perhaps the only bin free public space and people have become accustomed to it. Balloons are not an every day product, so it should not be a problem for people to adapt to this regulation.”