The festive season is just around the corner, and with it a festival of traditions. Across the country, many Americans will choose the perfect Christmas tree, decorate their homes with lights, hang stockings for the whole family and bake cookies. Some traditions, however, are more divisive, like the use of fireworks on New Year's Eve.
While many enjoy fireworks, they have a number of negative impacts on wildlife, the environment and human health. The loud noises and bright flashes cause panic and disorientation in wild animals, and can result in serious injuries or death. Fireworks also create debris, including microplastics, and release fine particulate matter.
Despite these issues, many continue to enjoy fireworks during the festive season, and in the United States, a majority of people do not support banning them. As our infographic shows, millennials are the most in favour of a ban on private fireworks: 41 percent of the millennials surveyed by Statista in October and November said they believed they should be forbidden, compared to between 30 and 32 percent of respondents from other generations. Of the 1,046 U.S. adults surveyed, 52 percent said they were not in favour of banning private fireworks.
