The national initiative aims to shine a light onto the issue of air quality and how it can be improved. 

Allerdale Borough Council is supporting the initiative and has been working together with Cumbria County Council to promote the key messages this year. Information has been shared with partner organisations and social media will be used to promote key messages with residents and visitors. 

There are many ways people can get involved with the Clean Air Day initiative, including sharing the key messages on social media, making their own Clean Air Day pledge, and using Global Action Plan’s personal air pollution calculator to work out their own contribution to air pollution in the UK. 

Allerdale Borough Council officers regularly monitor air pollution and respond to air pollution incidents across the borough. The Council’s environmental protection team monitors air quality in accordance with the Government programme and monitors for nitrogen dioxide every month across 18 monitoring locations in the borough. 

One of the authority’s other jobs is to continue to promote and maintain our good air quality. 

Allerdale’s environmental protection team have issued some tips for people looking to improve air quality. They are:

• Leave the car on the drive as often as possible, try to walk or cycle to work or school, or use public transport. If you must drive, turn off your engine when your stationary and when it’s safe to do so.
• Consider going electric. The availability of electric charging points is rising. Nationally, there has been a huge increase in the registration of electric cars since 2015. Could you join them?
• To improve air quality in your home, ventilate your property, open windows, and use extractor fans when cooking or using cleaning products, but close windows near busy roads during rush hours.
• Think about the products you use around the house. Use fragrance-free, milder cleaning products and choose paints and varnishes that are labelled “low volatile organic compounds”.
• Only burn dry, well-seasoned wood or smokeless fuel in your stove, open fire, or BBQ. Wood that’s suitable to burn should be marked with the “Ready to Burn” logo – this confirms it has a moisture content of 20% or less.  
• Check to see whether you live in a smoke control area by using our map.

Cllr Colin Sharpe, Allerdale’s Executive Member for finance and legal (which encompasses environmental protection), said: “We already have plenty to be proud about when it comes to air quality in Allerdale and Cumbria more generally with our region enjoying some of the best rankings nationally.

“But it’s incredibly important to keep up the efforts to continually improve air quality and to work hard towards ensuring that the air we breathe remains as clean as possible for the health of our residents and the planet”. 

Cumbria County Council’s Active Travel will also be promoting Clean Air Day by encouraging parents and carers to park safely on the school run. Many families feel unsafe walking or wheeling to school due to unsafe parking, and the air pollution caused by increased congestion can have a negative impact on children’s health. 

They have launched their “Safe Parking Pledge” Design a Postcard Competition where participating schools will receive printed bespoke parking pledges designed by school children. Schools who do not wish to take part in the competition still have the option to receive Safe Parking postcards free of charge.

The competition can be launched at school on/after Clean Air Day on 16 June, with a deadline for submission of Friday 1 July. Winners will be announced by the end of the summer term and the postcards will be printed over the holidays so that the initiative can be launched at school in September ready for when pupils return. 

Councillor Celia Tibble, Cumbria County Council Cabinet Member for Environment, said: “I would urge everyone to support Clean Air Day this Thursday, 16 June. Every year, air pollution causes up to 36,000 deaths in the UK. The choices and actions we take as organisations, individuals and communities play a very important role. We can all do something to reduce the harm from pollution and improve the quality of the air we breathe, benefiting not only our health but that of our communities and planet too.”

If you would like to take part in the competition, please email mandy.bailey@cumbria.gov.uk by 14 June with the following information:

•    Name of school
•    Which option you would like to take part in (if option 2, please let us know how many copies you need)
•    If you would like to receive any of the additional resources to support the campaign

All Clean Air Day resources are available on the Action for Clean Air website. 

To take part in Clean Air Day on social media please use the #CleanAirDay2022 hashtag.