Scientists claim to have made world's first fully biodegradable balloon

Scientists claim to have invented the world's greenest balloon and they aren't talking about the colour!

The team at Imperial College London claim they have made the world's first fully biodegradable balloon.

They say normal balloons can take years to break down and when they do, they release harmful chemicals.

But they say their balloon breaks down in nine months.

If something is biodegradable it means it can be broken down and reabsorbed by the surrounding environment.

Some things are naturally biodegradable, like food and plants, while other items can break down into harmful chemicals or gases.

Everything we use and make can technically be described as biodegradable - because eventually everything will break down.

But some things take a very long time to break down compared to others.

The new balloon, which is called Bioloon, is no more expensive than normal balloons and is easier to blow up according to the scientists.

The research was partly funded by Charlotte Melia who is a party planner, she wanted to reduce the impact of litter from balloons on wildlife and the environment.

She claims that some balloons that are labelled as being 100% biodegradable often don't break down fully, unlike Bioloon.

She said the new balloon uses a "process that joins the biodegradable materials together without any additives, so it's able to break down fully".