The city council has prohibited the sale of helium balloons on the streets in Oslo during the 17th of May celebrations

Oslo.Sale of helium balloons.Photo : Jon Olav Nesvold / NTB scanpix

No sellers will be allowed to sell helium balloons on the streets in Oslo during 17th of May.

 

“It’s possible to have fun on 17th of May without gas balloons,” says the Environment Bureau’s Lan Marie Nguyen Berg (MDG) to NRK after city council parties agreed that they do not want the sale of helium balloons on the Nation’s day.

The neighborhoods and the City Environment Authority have given notification that no licenses will be granted for those sales. The reason from Berg is the plastic pollution that balloons cause.

In recent years there have been fewer permits for street sales of balloons. However, it is still legal to sell balloons on private grounds, as in stores.

Last year, licenses for balloon sales were not given, but balloons were still sold. The 17th of May Committee in Oslo asks that the City Environment to take action against those who are caught selling.

“Someone will nevertheless try to sell helium balloons. I urge everyone not to buy because the helium balloons represent a major environmental problem,” says Erik Lunde (KrF), chairman of the 17th of May committee.

The Green Party said earlier in spring that they want a national ban on helium balloons on 17th of May.

A number of other municipalities have banned helium balloons before the 17th of May’s celebration.

© NTB scanpix / #Norway Today