On 16 June 2022, Clean Air Day will see schools, workplaces and communities across the UK taking simple steps to protect theirs and their family's health from air pollution.
In line with this year’s theme ‘air pollution dirties every organ in the body’, Waverley Borough Council is asking its own staff and councillors to demonstrate their support to reduce pollution in the borough and would like residents to get involved too.
There are simple steps we can all take to cut down on the pollution we cause and, as part of this year’s campaign, the organisers have created several pledges each of us can adopt to reduce air pollution, whether that is by using the car less, not letting your car engine idle when in queues or avoiding the burning of garden waste.
Waverley Borough Council’s Head of Environmental & Regulatory Services, Richard Homewood said: “Air pollution is the biggest environmental threat to our health, no matter who you are or where you live, so we hope residents will join us in supporting the campaign.
“In 2019 we declared a Climate Emergency and a commitment to become net-zero carbon by 2030. We are working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, encouraging more active travel as well as increasing electric vehicle charging points in the borough, but there’s always more we can do as individuals or as a community.”
There are currently 17 public EV charging bays in Waverley with more to be added in due course. The council also has 10 on street charging bays as part of a major Surrey trial.
In its efforts to improve air quality, the council is working with the Surrey Air Alliance on a successful bid project with funding from Defra to support the move to electric taxis and private hire vehicles. The council is also supporting Surrey County Council Trading Standards on a project to reduce air pollution from solid fuel burning as well as currently updating its Air Quality Action Plan, introducing a new Clean Air Strategy for the borough.
Mr Homewood added: “Everybody can have a positive impact on air quality and of course it’s not just about one day but making the little changes every day. I hope residents will get on board and help us work towards a cleaner and greener Waverley.”
Information on how to get involved and how to download the pledges is available on the Clean Air Day website: www.cleanairday.org.uk – if you would like to share a picture of your pledge, please do so on the council’s social media channels, on Facebook @WaverleyBC, Twitter @WaverleyBC or Instagram waverley_bc