I pick up a lot of litter on my way home from the Chippenham railway station, and deciding what to photograph for #OneADayInMay is getting tricky. After all, there are only so many pictures of rubbish that I think even this audience can stand! So when I caught sight of this bright pink balloon while walking through John Coles Park, I knew I was on to a winner.
After all, balloons are insidious bits of plastic that can easily kill or injure wildlife. This is especially true of sea life who mistake balloons and other floating plastic like carrier bags for food, and then end up starving to death with stomachs full of plastic waste. It’s great to see organisations like Balloons Blow using education to stop balloon releases and to remind people that what goes up, must come down.
That was all I was originally planning to write about this piece of litter since this particular balloon said Princess Party and my assumption was that it was left behind by a child. But after walking a few feet I came across a more complete picture: a “whippit” and burst balloons indicate that the area was being used by those getting high on nitrous oxide.
This wasn’t my only surprise find for the day. Just as I was about to turn on to my street, I caught sight of a white cable that looks like it belongs to an Apple device. It and what I am assuming is someone’s unopened, uneaten lunch were left behind. I have found unopened food in this area before, and I know it’s where teenagers from the local schools gather, so can someone who is more up-to-date with the behaviour of adolescents enlighten me–have teenagers started to act like squirrels and leave food for later?
