The environmental impact of fireworks

If you stayed up until midnight on New Year’s Eve, you’ll have seen a colourful show boasting (among the usual few fireworks) a load of drones. Drones are rapidly becoming the go-to for light shows, with the Tokyo Olympics Opening Ceremony being the first of many occasions now opting for drones. Drones are able to fly in greater density and for longer, representing an alternative movement against fireworks. People are falling out of love with fireworks due to their environmental impact, but how bad are they? And can anything be done to make them greener?

Although many find fireworks beautiful to look at, they have the potential to cause a lot of environmental damage. Fireworks propel a cocktail of chemicals into the atmosphere, many of which can harm both people and the environment. The colours in firework displays come from metallic compounds such as barium and aluminium, which can have negative impacts on animal and human health. They also contain oxidisers known as perchlorates – these produce the oxygen necessary for an explosion but can contaminate rivers and water. Additionally, they produce smoke and particulate matter, affecting the quality of the air. The debris has to land somewhere, while the light and noises often upset animal life and can be triggering for people with certain disabilities.

A greener society is looking to more eco-friendly alternatives, especially since fireworks add over 2,000 tonnes of particulate matter to the atmosphere every year

To give some measure of how harmful fireworks can be, it’s handy to take a look at the Air Quality Index. This gives values from 0 to 500, with anything above 401 classified as “severe”, meaning the air can seriously affect healthy people and those with existing respiratory illnesses. In New Delhi during Diwali 2019, the resulting emissions produced by the fireworks pushed the Air Quality Index rating to the maximum of 500 in several parts of the city. The country’s pollution board recorded “severe” fine particulate matter (PM2.5) levels on the final day of the festival. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), “PM2.5 can penetrate the lung barrier and enter the blood system. Chronic exposure to particles contributes to the risk of developing cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, as well as of lung cancer.”

Although fireworks are often a key part of many holidays, a greener society is looking to more eco-friendly alternatives, especially since fireworks add over 2,000 tonnes of particulate matter to the atmosphere every year. Pyrotechnician of the German fireworks manufacturer ‘Weco’, Georg Alef, points out that there is no such thing as a carbon-neutral firework: “There is a combustion and as with every combustion, reactions produce something into the air. Our products are not free of fine particles.” But he insists his company is working to make its products eco-friendlier, and that modern technology has made a difference to environmental impact.

‘Weco’ notes that progress is slow because biodegradable materials are more expensive than regular firework parts and scarce in availability

Alef claims that ‘Weco’ has gone further than many other firework manufacturers, for example by trialling compostable fibres in their rockets and using batteries that are partly made from plant-based materials. The company hopes to be able to replace the plastic caps of rockets with a version made from recycled paper. Nitrogen-based, rather than carbon-based fireworks are also produced by some companies. ‘Weco’ notes that progress is slow because biodegradable materials are more expensive than regular firework parts and scarce in availability. Alef also highlights safety concerns, since testing new firework components is not a fast process.

Alef says, “if you want to have complete zero emissions, then the only way is to get rid of fireworks”. Ollie Howitt, creative coordinator at ‘SkyMagic’ (which created the London NYE celebration), suggests that drones are a green option: “They’re no emission, they’re reusable, there’s no fallout or any debris or that kind of thing. So in that sense they are a very good, sustainable option.” Issues have been raised about drones, however, in that they require electricity and lithium batteries. The production of both hurt the drone’s green potential.

Are drones going to replace fireworks? Howitt suggests not: “We find fireworks work really well in tandem with drones. But we don’t really see it as a one replacing the other at all. We sort of feel as if it’s just another tool in the chest for how you sort of animate the sky and what you want to do with the show that you’re putting on.” But it seems that the days of grand firework spectacles are gradually passing, and alternatives are appearing. South Korea and Dublin both use a combination of lights and fireworks, while the German city of Landshut uses lights alone. Fireworks may not vanish entirely, but our use of them is evolving and becoming more eco-friendly in the process.