From Balloons to Bottle Bills: A Summer of Environmental Advocacy

This blog post was written by Madison Clum, a 2026 Marine Plastics Ambassador.

This summer I started working on advancing extended producer responsibility (EPR) policy and educational awareness in New York and transitioned into doing balloon release ban policy across the entire United States, while focusing my efforts on the then active North Carolina no balloon release bill. Balloons are the third deadliest form of plastic pollution for seabirds. The partnering organization and I also received and researched numerous reports from utility companies of rogue foil balloons causing power outages from blowing into powerlines. Additionally farmers from inland North Carolina have been reporting balloons causing a nuisance to their agricultural lands, posing threats to livestock and machinery. It seems no matter what type of community you are from, rogue balloons are impacting you.

During the course of the ambassadorship I was able to participate and/or organize 3 Hill Days, including our group ambassadorship trip to Washington D.C. This was my favorite part of the program because it felt the most impactful and was a great opportunity to learn more about what you can do as an advocate to achieve your goals. Additionally, I also wrote letters to my state representatives and made letter writing guide templates for other advocates to use. Another ambassador and I hosted a 3-part webinar series as well targeting balloon pollution. I also made some great connections with some nonprofit organizations that I have chosen to continue working with.

Engaging elected officials during Hill Days was my favorite part of this program and I was grateful to have attended 10 meetings this summer. It was very motivating to hear that after one meeting in Washington D.C. a representative decided to cosponsor a bill we discussed. I was also able to reach an estimated 1,200 users through social media posts. My EPR petitions didn’t get that much attraction but the other ambassador I worked with on the balloon pollution got over 800 signatures which we were able to bring to show representatives at our Hill Day in Raleigh.

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This project really showed me that I could and was making a difference. I didn’t know how to effectively communicate my opinions and turn that “want” to make a change into achievable actions and goals. I think I also learned valuable skills about researching legislation and communicating solutions. I think there is always room for growth and everyone could learn something from this program and this program is really good at working with everyone, whether you are an experienced or new advocate.

Moving forward, I am looking to shift my focus to advocating for a bottle bill in my state and some other initiatives to make my school’s campus more sustainable.

Learn more about the EarthEcho Marine Plastics Ambassadors at https://earthecho.org/plastics-ambassadors