Thousands and thousands of Helium balloons were released over the oceans and on lands until the 1990s

Helium balloons were not considered a problem that much until the 1990s. By the late 1980s Mylar balloons were creating power outages when they were released because the mylar conducts electricity. Also, the other problem with Mylar balloons is that they show up on the radar and planes cannot land if one or more is picked up on the radar because their configuration is similar to that of a small electric Drone. So, if one is over the airport the planes are forbidden to land by the control tower until the threat is assessed and removed permanently.

Rubber helium balloons have been found tangled up in fish and sea turtles and on land and sea birds and other sea and land creatures because what goes up must come down somewhere. And a helium balloon might stay aloft for a day or so depending how high it goes. If it goes high enough it will burst from altitude. Or if it isn't that buoyant it will travel with the winds until the helium seeps through the rubber and the balloons land in a tree on land on a car or truck's windshield or literally anywhere imaginable or unimaginable.