These shocking images show McDonald?s BALLOONS washed up on European coastlines at a rate of nearly one a day. See SWNS story SWBALLOONS; Campaign group Blue Planet Society compiled the images to lobby the fast food chain to scrap balloons in addition to ditching single use plastic, such as straws. But founder John Hourston, 52, says it has been met with resistance - and claims the balloons are more damaging than any other form of plastic waste. Balloons from British branches of McDonald?s have washed up across the North Sea, as far away as the coastlines of Belgium and Germany. John said: ?Balloons are going from Manchester and Liverpool and being swept across to the beaches of Belgium, Holland and Germany. ?We?ve collected 300 images in about a year, nearly one a day.
The pollution gallery (Picture: SWNS)

Hundreds of McDonald’s balloons are washing up on coastlines every year, with campaigners finding them almost daily. 

A shocking gallery shows the promo gifts found on beaches, with so many of them found that they could be colour coded.

The photos have been used to urge McDonald’s to scrap the balloons, in addition to ditching single use plastic like straws.

Blue Planet Society compiled the images to show the scale of the problem, saying the balloons are especially damaging as they can travel hundreds of miles.

‘We’ve collected 300 images in about a year – nearly one a day,’ founder John Hourston, 52, said.

These shocking images show McDonald?s BALLOONS washed up on European coastlines at a rate of nearly one a day. See SWNS story SWBALLOONS; Campaign group Blue Planet Society compiled the images to lobby the fast food chain to scrap balloons in addition to ditching single use plastic, such as straws. But founder John Hourston, 52, says it has been met with resistance - and claims the balloons are more damaging than any other form of plastic waste. Balloons from British branches of McDonald?s have washed up across the North Sea, as far away as the coastlines of Belgium and Germany. John said: ?Balloons are going from Manchester and Liverpool and being swept across to the beaches of Belgium, Holland and Germany. ?We?ve collected 300 images in about a year, nearly one a day.
Not such a happy meal (Picture: Blue Planet Society/SWNS)
These shocking images show McDonald?s BALLOONS washed up on European coastlines at a rate of nearly one a day. See SWNS story SWBALLOONS; Campaign group Blue Planet Society compiled the images to lobby the fast food chain to scrap balloons in addition to ditching single use plastic, such as straws. But founder John Hourston, 52, says it has been met with resistance - and claims the balloons are more damaging than any other form of plastic waste. Balloons from British branches of McDonald?s have washed up across the North Sea, as far away as the coastlines of Belgium and Germany. John said: ?Balloons are going from Manchester and Liverpool and being swept across to the beaches of Belgium, Holland and Germany. ?We?ve collected 300 images in about a year, nearly one a day.
Almost one balloon a day is found (Picture: Blue Planet Society/SWNS)

He said balloons from British branches of the fast food chain had been swept as far as Belgium, Holland and Germany as well as all across the UK including the Shetlands.

But he says McDonald’s have been reluctant to make changes.

‘In the marine environment, balloons are unlike any other form of human waste – they mimic marine food,’ John said.

The passionate conservationist, who lives in Bournemouth, Dorset, said the three components of a balloon pose a risk.

He added: ‘Latex is a form of plastic, so the balloon itself is ingested.

‘The ribbon causes entanglement, and the plastic tubing breaks down to microplastics.

‘They are a lethal form of airborn litter.

‘Most other litter does not have the ability to travel hundreds of miles.’

These shocking images show McDonald?s BALLOONS washed up on European coastlines at a rate of nearly one a day. See SWNS story SWBALLOONS; Campaign group Blue Planet Society compiled the images to lobby the fast food chain to scrap balloons in addition to ditching single use plastic, such as straws. But founder John Hourston, 52, says it has been met with resistance - and claims the balloons are more damaging than any other form of plastic waste. Balloons from British branches of McDonald?s have washed up across the North Sea, as far away as the coastlines of Belgium and Germany. John said: ?Balloons are going from Manchester and Liverpool and being swept across to the beaches of Belgium, Holland and Germany. ?We?ve collected 300 images in about a year, nearly one a day.
Campaign group Blue Planet Society compiled the images to lobby the fast food chain to scrap balloons in addition to ditching single use plastic, such as straws (Picture: Blue Planet Society/SWNS)

‘If they go into the atmosphere they blow up, become shredded and end up falling down in fragments.

‘They end up in the stomachs of seabirds, turtles, whales and dolphins.

‘We know that plastics in the environment attract pollutants.

‘To get to nanoplastics, they have to be in the marine environment for months or years.

‘Nanoplastics are so small that they could be absorbed through the gut walls of humans.

These shocking images show McDonald?s BALLOONS washed up on European coastlines at a rate of nearly one a day. See SWNS story SWBALLOONS; Campaign group Blue Planet Society compiled the images to lobby the fast food chain to scrap balloons in addition to ditching single use plastic, such as straws. But founder John Hourston, 52, says it has been met with resistance - and claims the balloons are more damaging than any other form of plastic waste. Balloons from British branches of McDonald?s have washed up across the North Sea, as far away as the coastlines of Belgium and Germany. John said: ?Balloons are going from Manchester and Liverpool and being swept across to the beaches of Belgium, Holland and Germany. ?We?ve collected 300 images in about a year, nearly one a day.
Balloons can travel hundreds of miles (Picture: Blue Planet Society/SWNS)
These shocking images show McDonald?s BALLOONS washed up on European coastlines at a rate of nearly one a day. See SWNS story SWBALLOONS; Campaign group Blue Planet Society compiled the images to lobby the fast food chain to scrap balloons in addition to ditching single use plastic, such as straws. But founder John Hourston, 52, says it has been met with resistance - and claims the balloons are more damaging than any other form of plastic waste. Balloons from British branches of McDonald?s have washed up across the North Sea, as far away as the coastlines of Belgium and Germany. John said: ?Balloons are going from Manchester and Liverpool and being swept across to the beaches of Belgium, Holland and Germany. ?We?ve collected 300 images in about a year, nearly one a day.
Pictures are sent from all over Europe (Picture: Blue Planet Society/SWNS)

‘It is a ticking time bomb.

‘We are in the stage that we were with smoking in the 1950s and 1960s.’

An activist from the Danish island of Fanoe, on the west coast, wrote: ‘On our beach we can easily find 10- 15 happy meal balloons every day.’

One balloon had been marked with a message from Dundee, Scotland – but ended up 370 miles away in Banbury, Oxfordshire.

Wildlife could be seen in some of the pictures, including seals and puffins.

Not all the balloons featured in the gallery were British – some had the slogan ‘Place a la bonne humeur’ printed on them in French.

These shocking images show McDonald?s BALLOONS washed up on European coastlines at a rate of nearly one a day. See SWNS story SWBALLOONS; Campaign group Blue Planet Society compiled the images to lobby the fast food chain to scrap balloons in addition to ditching single use plastic, such as straws. But founder John Hourston, 52, says it has been met with resistance - and claims the balloons are more damaging than any other form of plastic waste. Balloons from British branches of McDonald?s have washed up across the North Sea, as far away as the coastlines of Belgium and Germany. John said: ?Balloons are going from Manchester and Liverpool and being swept across to the beaches of Belgium, Holland and Germany. ?We?ve collected 300 images in about a year, nearly one a day.
(Picture: Blue Planet Society/SWNS)
These shocking images show McDonald?s BALLOONS washed up on European coastlines at a rate of nearly one a day. See SWNS story SWBALLOONS; Campaign group Blue Planet Society compiled the images to lobby the fast food chain to scrap balloons in addition to ditching single use plastic, such as straws. But founder John Hourston, 52, says it has been met with resistance - and claims the balloons are more damaging than any other form of plastic waste. Balloons from British branches of McDonald?s have washed up across the North Sea, as far away as the coastlines of Belgium and Germany. John said: ?Balloons are going from Manchester and Liverpool and being swept across to the beaches of Belgium, Holland and Germany. ?We?ve collected 300 images in about a year, nearly one a day.
(Picture: Blue Planet Society/SWNS)
These shocking images show McDonald?s BALLOONS washed up on European coastlines at a rate of nearly one a day. See SWNS story SWBALLOONS; Campaign group Blue Planet Society compiled the images to lobby the fast food chain to scrap balloons in addition to ditching single use plastic, such as straws. But founder John Hourston, 52, says it has been met with resistance - and claims the balloons are more damaging than any other form of plastic waste. Balloons from British branches of McDonald?s have washed up across the North Sea, as far away as the coastlines of Belgium and Germany. John said: ?Balloons are going from Manchester and Liverpool and being swept across to the beaches of Belgium, Holland and Germany. ?We?ve collected 300 images in about a year, nearly one a day.
(Picture: Blue Planet Society/SWNS)
These shocking images show McDonald?s BALLOONS washed up on European coastlines at a rate of nearly one a day. See SWNS story SWBALLOONS; Campaign group Blue Planet Society compiled the images to lobby the fast food chain to scrap balloons in addition to ditching single use plastic, such as straws. But founder John Hourston, 52, says it has been met with resistance - and claims the balloons are more damaging than any other form of plastic waste. Balloons from British branches of McDonald?s have washed up across the North Sea, as far away as the coastlines of Belgium and Germany. John said: ?Balloons are going from Manchester and Liverpool and being swept across to the beaches of Belgium, Holland and Germany. ?We?ve collected 300 images in about a year, nearly one a day.
Not all the balloons were from Britain – this one is French (Picture: Blue Planet Society / SWNS)

A spokesman for McDonald’s said: ‘Helium balloons are no longer in use in the majority of our coastal restaurants.

‘We strive to be a good neighbour in all the communities we operate in and work closely with our suppliers to ensure all of our balloons are made from bio-degradable materials.

‘We have taken a number of steps to encourage customers to dispose of litter responsibly, and are currently in the process of replacing all helium balloons with stick balloons in coastal restaurants.

‘Our priority remains to provide our customers with the correct messaging on waste disposal and ensure we play our part in keeping the environment litter free.’

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