8 years since the first party in a bin

7 years since the first giant Helium balloon

6 years since the first balloon art installation, Nucleation an Ode to Bubbles

5 years since Dreams Never Die aka UP House

4 years since Dito Ici - You are Here TedxYYC at Jack Singer Concert Hall

3 years since the great pause

2 years since “Calgarians We Love” from Avenue Magazine

1 year since the book Landed: A Transformative Stories of Canadian Immigrant Women, “Red Balloon” short story contribution.

These milestones are special however the cherry on top is the ♻️ recycling initiative finally in place.

In March 2020, a full Gaylord box was loaded on a pallet bound to TerraCycle in New Jersey, USA. It was planned to be shredded and used as an impact modifier for the flooring industry. While it was interrupted due to the world pause, an alternative is subscribing to TerraCycle Zero Waste Boxes. It is economical with smaller batch handling.

To get to this point is a very happy moment as it’s been 5 years of exploring options.

2017 To dump biodegradable latex balloons to the landfill.

2018 To request space at the Calgary Landfill to expedite the degradation of biodegradable balloons; being

denied due to minuscule annual tonnage.

2019 To explore grant matching at SAIT (Southern Alberta Institute of Technology) for waste management: for latex balloons be molded and turned to erasers for school children use. Idea parked- as balloon waste generated is nothing compared to the corporate sector which is top priority in Alberta, Canada.

2020 To consult an environmental expert- with a recommendation of landfill use, solely based on volume. Then if you go the extra mile, pay for recycling.

I have long kept a sample from the first balloon art installation from 2017 to demonstrate how latex balloons shred overtime.

However today, large-scale installations will have a new life as impact modifiers, somewhere.

Thank you to the clients who willingly pay recycling fees and support this initiative.