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1. Balloons travel across great distances
In early May 2007, a work visit of researchers of Wageningen Marine Research to French colleagues became quite embarrassing! Following Dutch Queen's Day celebrations, strong northeasterly winds brought a lot of Dutch party balloons all the way down to Normandy, at least 800km away from their point of release. In the vicinity of Le Havre, more than 10 balloons per kilometer coastline were recovered. Most originated from companies advertising their business. However, also charity organisations were involved, yet sending out the wrong message here.
In the Netherlands, balloon debris from neighbouring countries is also found:
![These balloons found on the island of Texel, in the northwest of the Netherlands, had their origin without doubt in Belgium, where French and Dutch languages overlap. The bilingual text ‘Dag van de Netheid / Journée Propreté’ translates to ‘Day of tidiness’. Organisers had apparently overlooked the litter problem from balloons! These balloons found on the island of Texel, in the northwest of the Netherlands, had their origin without doubt in Belgium, where French and Dutch languages overlap. The bilingual text ‘Dag van de Netheid / Journée Propreté’ translates to ‘Day of tidiness’. Organisers had apparently overlooked the litter problem from balloons!](/upload_mm/5/2/a/feb37703-ad20-4cc5-9bf9-fa4b8472f385_BalloonNetheid_Franeker-H01940_0f20c367_670x502.jpg)