OPINION: Love throwing confetti outdoors? Here’s why you shouldn’t.

By Blakeley Bartee

Confetti: we love to throw it, and we hate to clean it. The tiny strips of plastic are a popular prop for photo shoots and celebrations.

Georgia Southern University’s student newspaper, The George-Anne, shared a photo of confetti left on the ground, reporting that senior photo shoots have left the campus dotted with confetti and glitter.

Littering an ecosystem, even on a college campus, with bits of plastic can have harmful consequences for wildlife, both on land and in nearby waterways where the confetti might travel.

Animals eating plastic is a well-documented phenomenon, from shopping bag-eating polar bears to albatrosses munching on ocean debris. Ocean animals are especially attracted to plastic because it either looks or smells like their regular food.

When animals eat plastic, they can’t digest it. Oklahoma State University’s Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources explains in an article that livestock animals are often attracted to plastic litter, like plastic bags or balloons.

“The plastic could block the intestine over time, causing discomfort, pain and eventual rupture of the digestive tract leading to death,” according to the OSU’s article.

The consequences of plastic pollution are especially dire for aquatic animals. UNESCO estimates that plastic debris causes the deaths of more than a million seabirds every year, as well as more than 100,000 marine animals.

Although confetti-throwers are unlikely to chuck their plastic shreds directly into the ocean, the litter might still end up there. The United States Environmental Protection Agency estimates that 80% of marine debris originates as land-based trash.

For an environmentally-friendly photo shoot, try using biodegradable materials, like dried leaves, for a confetti-alternative. Throwing plastic confetti indoors, where it’s easy to sweep up, is another way to prevent needless littering.

Maybe litterers simply expect maintenance workers to pick their confetti up for them.

And that’s just plain rude.