A beachgoer has urged couples not to host gender reveal parties along the coast because of the debris such parties leave behind.
A woman shared a video showing a path of pink confetti covering the white sands, asking expectant parents to “not ruin our beaches.”
Scientists have determined that Traditional confetti is made of microplastics. They pollute the oceans, poison wildlife and can take 1,000 years to decompose.
The trash on the beach adds to the many gender reveal parties that have left marks on the environment: A 75-mile fire started in California and pink confetti was scattered throughout Yosemite National Park.
A video has resurfaced asking expectant parents not to throw confetti on the beach during their gender reveal parties (pictured).
Confetti can harm the environment, causing toxic microplastics to end up in the ocean and potentially poison wildlife.
Traditional metallic confetti is made from polyvinyl chloride (PVC), metal foil, and other plastics that can harm the environment and wildlife.
Animals such as fish, shellfish, and seabirds are attracted to the shine of confetti and may mistake it for food.
When microplastic (small plastics measuring about five millimeters long) accumulates in the animal’s stomach, it can poison it or cause death from starvation.
Some people have turned to biodegradable confetti as an alternative, but even this option harms the environment and takes weeks to decompose, giving wildlife enough time to eat it.
‘The beach is not a compost bin. People shouldn’t leave anything biodegradable,’ one person commented on the TikTok video posted in July last year, which was reported on Tuesday by The cooling.
Confetti sales have skyrocketed in recent years, with one million pounds sold in the U.S. each year and even paper confetti is too small to recycle, according to San Jose, California. Waste management.
The organization warns people to avoid using confetti outdoors so it doesn’t become trash and clarified that only undyed confetti can be composted because dye can contain toxic heavy metals.
There are alternatives people can use instead of confetti, such as dried flower petals, leaf clippings, and seeds.
Couples have gone to great lengths all year in hopes of throwing a stunning gender reveal party, and most have done so at the expense of the environment.
Parents in California started a fire in 2020 after using ‘smoke bombs’ at a photo shoot, which caused a 75-mile fire.
Wildlife advocates have since grown tired of the disastrous displays and are now demanding hefty fines for those who use the environment as a backdrop for their reveal.
Beth Pratt, executive director of the National Wildlife Federation of California, previously told McClatchy News: ‘Certainly glitter or other microplastics greatly impact wildlife.
Parents who were in California started a fire in 2020 after using ‘smoke bombs’ at a photo shoot, which created a 75-mile fire
A wildlife expert shared her horror after seeing a couple leaving pink confetti in Yosemite National Park last January.
He observed a couple who left remains in Yosemite National Park.
“We need to start imposing heavy fines if authorized individuals are going to continue causing damage to resources in our national parks,” Pratt shared on X regarding an image of the gender reveal.
“And maybe people need to start taking a test before they can visit to show they understand these areas are protected places and home to wildlife.”