New Year's Eve balloon drop 'environmentally sound,' club says

MANILA, Philippines— The organizers of the planned "largest balloon drop" on New Year’s Eve on Saturday said it will hold the event despite the public clamor not to over environmental concerns.

In a statement, Cove Manila thanked the public for informing them of their concerns and assured them that it will still prioritize the “preservation and protection of the environment.”

“These are legitimate issues. But rest assured that the preservation and protection of the environment is something Cove Manila—and Okada Manila, for that matter—has always been committed to uphold,” the club said in a Facebook post.

“Cove Manila's much-anticipated balloon drop is not a whimsical effort to just 'play' with thousands of balloons. It is an earnest effort not only to make a new world record for the country, but also to demonstrate that we can have a lot of fun but still remain responsible,” it said.

The Philippines has a penchant for attempting to break world records, often in a bid to add prominence to an event or to attract tourism and commerce. 

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The club said it will implement environment-proof plans for the event, adding they will be using biodegradable balloons. 

It added that “the balloon drop has been planned with solid environmental management protocols in place to minimize, if not eliminate, any possible impact on the environment.”

“We are recycling all the balloons and creatively turning them into something useful,” Cove Manila added.

“Again, thank you for airing your concerns. We assure you we are all one for enjoying a fun, safe, and environmentally sound celebration of the upcoming New Year’s Eve,” it reiterated.

On December 19, Cove Manila invited the public to join its New Year’s Eve revelry with a plan to set the new world record for the largest balloon drop of all time.

It said its dome "will be showered with 130,000 balloons" during the New Year’s Eve countdown party.

Cove Manila is on New Seaside Drive in Parañaque's coastal Entertainment City district. 

Balloon drop event 'wasteful, nonsensical'

The announcement of the event drew flak from public and environment advocate groups who said the balloon drop is wasteful and called on the organizers to stop the event.

Environment advocate and non-profit organization The Climate Reality Project Philippines said the balloon drop for a world record is “wasteful, unsustainable, and ecologically apathetic.”

The group lamented that while the event “will be done indoors and follow waste disposal guidelines,”  the activity itself  still “contradicts the basic principles of environmental sustainability.”

“All of these balloons, if not recycled, will end up as waste in landfills and other areas which will harm wildlife, marine and terrestrial ecosystems, and even clog sewage systems, among others,” the group said.

It added that balloon production emits greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O)

Meanwhile, human rights organization and climate justice advocacy group DAKILA also denounced Cove Manila’s planned balloon drop event for its damaging effects to the environment and called for it to be cancelled.

“We at DAKILA denounce the balloon drop event by Cove Manila as it adds to the plastic pollution and poses serious threat to our environment. We appeal to the management of Cove Manila and Okada Manila to consider the harmful environmental impacts of this event,” DAKILA OIC-Executive Director Rash Caritativo said.

“Cove Manila and Okada Manila's attempt to land a Guinness World Record through a 130,000 balloon-drop is a clear display of nonsensical extravagance at the expense of the environment. It is clearly a disregard of the efforts of the government and environmental advocate organizations in curbing the plastic waste of the Philippines,” DAKILA Associate Campaigns Director Jeckree Mission said.

DAKILA pointed out that the United Way of Cleveland also attempted to do the same event with 1.5 million balloons in 1986.

The group said “the event proved its detrimental effects to the environment when an estimate of 60 percent of the balloons released littered Lake Erie and impeded a rescue mission of Coast Guard for two fishermen.”

It also added that the event “was not recognized by the Guinness in observance of their policy not to recognize environmentally impactful records such as party balloons, sky lanterns, etc.”

DAKILA is urging the public to oppose the event and reach out to the organizers.

The Climate Reality Project Philippines earlier launched an online petition calling on Cove Manila to stop the balloon drop event.

As of posting, it gathered almost 58,000 signatures and is looking into having 75,000 signatures before they send the online petition to Cove Manila, Guinness World Records and event sponsors Hennessy and Belvedere Vodka.

The group said they would personally deliver the petition to the organizers.

DENR orders stoppage of balloon drop

According to reports, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources will talk to the organizers regarding the matter.

It also said they “ordered the event organizers to stop their world-record attempt to drop the largest number of balloons during the New Year’s Eve countdown at the posh Okada Manila, considering the country’s problem with solid waste.”

Cove Manila said the Okada Manila team earlier worked with the DENR and spent a weekend cleaning up the Las Piñas-Parañaque Critical Habitat and Ecotourism Area, a nature reserve in the south of Manila Bay.

The club said the activity is part of its corporate social responsibility programs.