Austrian town offers reusable water balloons for child safety

The public pool in Oberwart tries to keep the fun alive

The Austrian town of Oberwart has banned single-use water balloons at its public outdoor pool as of 1 August. Instead, the pool offers 200 reusable balloons although these have been met with mixed feelings.

The aim of the measure is dual – to provide improved safety for children playing with these objects and to reduce the environmental impact of these by cutting down on littering.

According to the town’s mayor, Georg Rosner, the authorities are thus listening to concerned parents who had noticed that many remains of the rubber balloons were being left out in the area of the baby pool. Given that small children like to put any found objects in their mouths, this type of waste radically increases the hazard of choking.

Environmental impact of single-use balloons

Furthermore, leaving used water balloons creates litter and can also clog up the drains increasing repair costs for the swimming pool management.

Media reports do not specify the material of the reusable balloons, but they specify that they are more environmentally friendly. Unlike the single-use balloons they pop but they don’t burst when they hit a surface, which allows their reuse.

"We want our bathers to feel comfortable and at the same time be able to act in an environmentally conscious manner. This regulation is an important step in this direction," explains Mayor Georg Rosner.

According to the town’s authorities, however, the ban on single-use water balloons has been received with mixed reactions by the public.

More specifically, children, who are the main users of these balloons have reported that the reusable water balloons don’t make a mess, indeed, however, they also hurt much more when hitting the skin.