About two decades ago, Christina Trapani was working with the Virginia Aquarium’s Stranding Response Program and started noticing a trend with some of the sea turtles they rescued.
“We would find bits and pieces of balloons in their bellies,” she said. “It was obvious that this was something that could be affecting wildlife.”
Trapani’s experience at the aquarium set her on a yearslong quest to curb balloon litter, which has proven pervasive in coastal Virginia…