To The Editor,

I am writing to request that the organizers of the Labor Day Parade and the participants who march abstain from using any mylar balloons in their displays. I also ask that no vendors of these balloons be invited to sell at the parade. Mylar balloons are deadly to wildlife, both on land and in the ocean. They can be mistaken for food and ingested, causing fatal blockages. The ribbons can entangle birds and small mammals. I often hike in the woods and the most common trash I see is plastic water bottles and mylar balloons. Believe it or not, the balloons also cause power outages because mylar is a polyester film that can conduct electricity if one falls on electrical lines, causing sparking and even fires. The balloons are cute for a day, then they are forgotten but the plastics they are made from endure for hundreds of years. The theme for this year’s Labor Day Parade is “picture perfect.” This small initiative will help Newtown exemplify that theme.

Tracy Van Buskirk

Newtown