Environmentalist group Ecowaste Coalition on Saturday appealed to the management of Okada Manila Hotel and Casino and Cove Manila in Parañaque City to reconsider its plan of dropping 130,000 balloons on New Year’s Eve.
In its Dec. 19 post on social media, Cove Manila invited its guests to “Be part of a record-breaking welcome to 2019 at Cove Manila this Dec. 31 as they set a new world record for the largest balloon drop of all-time!”
“When midnight rolls in, The Dome will be showered with 130,000 balloons in an epic New Year’s Eve Countdown Party led by international dance music icon Pete Tong!”, the social media post stated.
But Ecowaste, in an open letter to Cove Manila director Heathcliff Motorga, raised its concern with the “environmental soundness of inflating and discarding 130,000 balloons for a few minutes of merriment of your highly privileged 3,000 guests, which, after the event, will likely be disposed of at a place where poor people live and work.”
“We write to express our utmost concern regarding the upcoming indoor balloon drop at Cove Manila on Dec. 31 as part of Okada Manila’s grand countdown to 2019. As you have announced, you plan to drop 130,000 balloons in an attempt to break the current Guinness Book of World Records of 109,000 for the largest indoor balloon drop,” said Aileen Lucero, Ecowaste national coordinator.
“Considering the colossal volume of trash that our country generates, estimated at over 40,000 tons per day, we cannot help but question the propriety of wasteful events such as the balloon drop that Cove Manila is set to do on New Year’s Eve,” Lucero said.
Ecowaste said that the 130,000 balloons to be dropped will have to go somewhere and “we wonder what your plans are for their management or disposal soon after the revelry.”
“We fear that Okada Manila will not only smash the current Guinness World Record for the largest indoor balloon drop, but also establish a new world record for the most number of used balloons sent to the dump from a single event.”
“While our wish may be next to impossible, we still beg you to call off the balloon dropping event for the sake of the environment,” it added.