Beaufort’s balloon release ban is SC’s first. Meet the Harbor Island woman behind it
To Jenn Clementoni, the release of latex or plastic balloons to honor a loved one or mark an achievement is littering, plain and simple.
Even if it’s done in celebration, master naturalist and Harbor Island resident Clementoni said she thinks it should be against the law.
Now balloon releases are illegal in Beaufort, thanks in no small part to Clementoni’s persistence, compassion for wildlife and community advocacy.
On Dec. 9, the city became the first in South Carolina to make the outside release of balloons into the air illegal. The vote was 5-0. Clementoni described the unanimous support for the idea a feather in Beaufort’s cap and a win for the Lowcountry’s celebrated wildlife.
“It shows how much they care about the overall health of our environment,” she says.
Local support for addressing balloon litter gained traction in August after the organizers of an event in Beaufort announced a mass balloon release on Facebook.
The post was forwarded to Clementoni, who had been studying the problem of balloon litter almost since she moved to the area five years ago. The August balloon release couldn’t be stopped because it wasn’t illegal. But for Clementoni, it was the last straw.
Folly Beach doesn’t allow balloon releases on beaches, but Beaufort’s new rule is the first in South Carolina to cover the entire city, Clementoni says.
It’s important, she said, because dolphins, sharks and birds sometimes ingest the deflated balloons, which lodge in their digestive tracts and cause a painful death. Sea turtles are known to mistake them for jellyfish, a key food source.
“It’s a real problem,” Clementoni says. “Balloons litter our beaches throughout the year.”
The penalties for violations
With the backing of the Carolina Bight Birding Center, where she serves as the executive director, Clementoni said she contacted Beaufort City Councilman Josh Scallate. “I said, ‘Josh, I have all this data, I have solutions. Can we talk about this?’”
Balloon releases were previously disallowed on city-owned property but allowed everywhere else.
The way Clementoni sees it, releasing balloons should be treated as littering. While education is important, she adds, legislation is necessary to end the practice, especially in Port Royal, Beaufort and Hilton Head Island where waterways underpin the tourism economy.
Now even organizing a balloon release is a misdemeanor. The fine is up to $500 and 30 days in jail. Releasing balloons indoors is not covered by the change.
While Beaufort’s pioneering vote is an important first step, Clementoni said she is now urging the mayors of Hilton Head, Port Royal and Bluffton to follow suit. She’s also informed Rep. Wm. Weston J. Newton, R-Beaufort, of Beaufort’s action, in hopes a stalled bill to ban balloon releases statewide will be revived.
Balloon litter in Beaufort County
As an avid birder who volunteers on Harbor Island with efforts to conserve the sea turtles, Clementoni is passionate about the Lowcountry environment.
She was tromping around in the Lowcountry wilds when she saw the garbage problem first hand. That spurred her decision to study the issue.
She found volunteer-reported litter data in the Litter Journal of South Carolina Aquarium, a nonprofit aquatic center in Charleston focused on the state’s wildlife.
Since 2016, Beaufort County has had the highest percentage of balloon litter in South Carolina, averaging 2.95% of all documented debris since 2016.
In 2021 alone, balloon litter made up 9% of litter recorded in Beaufort County and 97% of balloons picked up were found on or near the beaches on Fripp, Pritchards, Hilton Head, Harbor and Hunting islands.
Seeking a ‘calmer’ life in the Lowcountry
The balloon litter issue is one of several that Clementoni has gotten behind since she and her husband, John, moved to Harbor Island from New Jersey in 2020.
Before they moved, she was an executive assistant in the pharmaceutical and consumer products industry. He worked in marketing and insurance for large health care companies. The couple was ready for a change and followed their son, Andrew, to South Carolina. He had joined the Marine Corps and underwent training at Parris Island in Port Royal.
“We just wanted a calmer, more peaceful life, and we saw that this area was near Parris Island,” Clementoni said. “We found our house, sold our house, the rest is history.”
Shortly after arriving, the couple started a business guiding birders around the Lowcountry. Now Clementoni is the executive director of the newly formed Carolina Bight Birding Center.
The mission of the birding center, which will be constructed on eight acres along Mudbar Road near the tidal marsh of the Chechessee River off of Highway 170, is promoting and preserving the many species of birds that inhabit the area.
Clementoni credits her parents, especially her father, for her community involvement. He was a disabled veteran who earned two Purple Heart medals in Vietnam. Volunteering was important to him, which was a huge inspiration in her recent efforts to promote the balloon release ban.
“Even with his challenges — he was almost fully paralyzed — he volunteered for everything he possibly could, from coaching to his VFW to parades,” she said. “Anything he could do to help people.”
