08/28/2026
🎈 A Local Balloon Company’s Perspective on Allegheny County’s New Balloon Ban
Allegheny County has announced that balloons are now prohibited throughout all nine County Parks.
This is not simply a ban on balloon releases. The new policy includes balloons used as decorations and props at shelters, park facilities, wedding venues and events.
As a Pittsburgh-area balloon company that has worked in and around our County Parks for decades, we think an important distinction is being lost.
First, we agree with the goal: Our parks should not be littered.
Airheads Balloon Art does not perform balloon releases, and we will not knowingly provide balloons for one. In fact, balloon releases were already prohibited under existing County Park rules before this new blanket ban was announced.
When we install décor using our professional frames, bases or equipment, we return after the event, dismantle the installation and remove those items along with the balloons attached to them.
Other balloon décor, such as delivered centerpieces or purchased decorations, becomes the responsibility of the event host once delivered — just like table coverings, signs, catering containers, cups or any other disposable material brought into a park for an event.
Those items should all leave with the event host when the event is over.
Over the years, Allegheny County itself has hired Airheads to entertain guests at a number of its annual events, where our Talented Twisters created latex balloon sculptures for County Park visitors. We have always been proud to be part of those events.
That is one reason this new blanket prohibition is so disappointing.
According to the County, the policy was adopted because balloon debris has required substantial cleanup by park maintenance crews and volunteers.
If cleanup is the problem, shouldn’t the solution address the people creating the cleanup?
A shelter or pavilion still has to be checked and cleaned after an event whether balloons were present or not. Event hosts can leave behind food containers, disposable tablecloths, cups, tape, signs, decorations and all kinds of other debris.
Banning balloons does not eliminate the need to clean the pavilion, and it does not solve the broader problem of people failing to clean up after themselves.
A more direct solution would be accountability.
If a renter leaves a pavilion or event area requiring additional cleanup, charge that renter for the cleanup. Put that responsibility clearly in the rental agreement. Assess a cleanup fee or penalty when necessary.
That creates an incentive for everyone — regardless of what decorations, food or supplies they bring — to leave the park the way they found it.
Instead, the new policy singles out one particular event product and bans its responsible use along with its irresponsible use.
There is an enormous difference between intentionally releasing balloons into the environment, abandoning balloon debris after an event, and securely using balloons for a wedding, graduation, birthday or community celebration and properly disposing of them afterward.
We support protecting wildlife.
We support keeping our parks clean.
We support prohibiting balloon releases.
We support holding renters, vendors and event hosts accountable for what they leave behind.
What we question is whether banning one category of decoration actually solves the problem the County says it is trying to solve.
Responsible families and responsible local event businesses should not bear the consequences of someone else’s failure to clean up.
We hope Allegheny County will reconsider the scope of this policy and focus instead on a simple standard that applies fairly to everyone:
Whatever you bring into the park for your event should leave with you when the event is over.
And if it doesn’t, the person responsible for the event should be responsible for the cleanup.
That seems like a much more effective way to protect our parks.
Dave Weiss & Leigh-Anne Weiss
Airheads Balloon Art
Pittsburgh, PA
When the BALLOONS look great, YOU look great.
