University of Tasmania
Browse
140421 - Latex balloons do not degrade uniformly in freshwater, marine and composting_OA.pdf (939.01 kB)

Latex balloons do not degrade uniformly in freshwater, marine and composting environments

Download (939.01 kB)
journal contribution
posted on 2023-05-20, 16:58 authored by Morgan Gilmour, Jennifer Lavers
Latex balloons are a poorly-studied aspect of anthropogenic pollution that affects wildlife survival, aesthetic value of waterways, and may adsorb and leach chemicals. Pure latex needs to be vulcanised with sulphur and requires many additional compounds to manufacture high quality balloons. Yet, balloons are often marketed as “biodegradable”, which is confusing to consumers. Due to the persistence of latex balloons in the environment and the lethal, documented threat to wildlife, degradation behaviours of latex balloons were quantified in freshwater, saltwater and industrial compost. Using the metrics mass change, ultimate tensile strength (UTS) and superficial composition via attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR), latex balloon degradation was documented for 16 weeks. Overall, latex balloons retained their original shape and size. Composted balloons lost 1-2% mass, but some balloons in freshwater gained mass, likely due to osmotic processes. Balloons’ UTS decreased from 30.7 ± 10.8 to 9.5 ± 4.1 Newtons in water, but remained constant (34.3 ± 13.4 N) in compost. ATR-FTIR spectra illustrated compositional and temporal differences between treatments. Taken together, latex balloons did not meaningfully degrade in freshwater, saltwater, or compost indicating that when released into the environment, they will continue to contribute to anthropogenic litter and pose a threat to wildlife that ingest them.

Funding

Donation via University of Tasmania Foundation

Zoos Victoria

History

Publication title

Journal of Hazardous Materials

Volume

403

Article number

123629

Number

123629

Pagination

1-10

ISSN

0304-3894

Department/School

Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies

Publisher

Elsevier Science Bv

Place of publication

Po Box 211, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 1000 Ae

Rights statement

Copyright 2020 Elsevier

Repository Status

  • Open

Socio-economic Objectives

Water and waste services not elsewhere classified; Assessment and management of terrestrial ecosystems

Usage metrics

    University Of Tasmania

    Exports

    RefWorks
    BibTeX
    Ref. manager
    Endnote
    DataCite
    NLM
    DC