Air Quality campaigns for everyone
Clean Air Day
Clean Air Day normally takes place on the third Thursday in June and is the UK’s largest air pollution campaign. It encourages everyone to take action to help reduce air pollution and usually involves hundreds of events around the country including many in our borough.
Clean Air Day - Thursday 20 June 2024
This year our theme for Clean Air Day is ‘Clean, sustainable and active travel'.
According to official data, cars and vans are the biggest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions and some types of air pollution in the UK, harming both our health and the planet. It is important to take action to reduce emissions produced by these vehicles. Whenever possible, we should look to take the cleanest and most sustainable methods of travel to our destination.
If more of us are able to walk, wheel, cycle or use public transport, it would make the air cleaner for us all and help to protect our health and the planet. For example:
- If everyone switched just one car journey a month for a bus trip, there would be a billion fewer car journeys each year
- Taking the train produces nearly 80% less carbon emissions than driving, helping to protect the environment
- Journeys walked, wheeled or cycled in 2023 prevented 420,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions entering the atmosphere
What we are doing for Clean Air Day 2024
On Thursday 20 June join us near the flower stall in George Street, Richmond from 11am to 4pm. The event has activities for you to get involved with.
- Come and learn about Cargo bikes including
- Our community and business cargo bike scheme
- An eCargo bike showcased by Cycle Race
- Chat to cargo bike users
- Street performers entertaining us with air pollution messages and a quiz
- We'll be providing resources on air quality in our borough – come and ask us your questions
- How much do you know about indoor air pollution
For Clean Air Day, we are also:
- Running a school’s poster competition on the theme ‘Drawing Breath’
- Encouraging businesses to work with employees and suppliers to help reduce their contributions to local air pollution
- Organising ‘air pollution street entertainers’ for two schools to raise pupil’s awareness of Clean Air Day
What you can do for Clean Air Day
We encourage residents and businesses to think and talk about air pollution throughout the week, and to walk, cycle, scoot and wheel whenever you are able to.
Use these resources to help you to reduce your air pollution exposure and contributions:
Walking
- Use the Clean Air Route finder
- View Accessible London walking route maps
- Take a walk in our parks and open spaces
Cycling
- Trial or hire a bike or cargo bike with one of our bicycle and cargo bike schemes
- Book a free cycle training course
- Try cycling to work
- Find out more about inclusive cycling from Wheels for Wellbeing
Public transport
- Find out more about accessible public transport from Transport for All
- Visit Transport For London to plan a journey
- Learn more about how London’s buses are becoming greener
Green Deliveries
- Take our Clean Air Challenge
- Make your deliveries greener by searching for Click and Collect and choose a green delivery slot or a hub
Educate yourself on air pollution and share your knowledge:
- Learn more about air pollution from the Clean Air Hub
- Discover ways to reduce your impact on local air pollution with the air pollution calculator
- Amplify the call for cleaner air by re-tweeting Clean Air Day posts by @LBRuT and @cleanairdayuk on and around 20 June using the hashtag #CleanAirDay2024
Previous Clean Air Day events
View previous Clean Air Day events.
Car Free Day
Car Free Day happens on 22 September each year and aims to reclaim streets away from vehicles for people to use, by championing traffic-free city centres and promoting active travel. The most popular activities are closing roads to produce Play Streets and School Streets.
What we are doing for Car Free Day 2023
We waived the fee to close roads to enable residents to apply for a temporary residential road closure so that children can play in a car-free, safe environment. In response to applications, 31 Play Streets across the borough will be put in place over the weekend of 23 and 24 September 2023.
We have recently expanded our network of electric cargo bikes for hire scheme with six new sites, so that there are now nine locations across the borough. More information about the scheme can be found on the Our Bike website and we will be running pop-up events at schools this autumn to show-case the cargo-bikes and answer questions.
We are running a poster competition for schools on the theme 'Drawing Breath', with prizes for entries in Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 categories. Schools should have received the details via the school’s weekly eNewsletter.
We ask residents to consider leaving their car at home on Car Free Day and to travel actively or by public transport for short journeys if they can. Walking and cycling is a great way to celebrate the many benefits that travelling actively brings, which includes a positive impact on health and wellbeing, improved local air quality and reduced carbon emissions.
There are many schemes in the borough that can help you to swap the car for an alternative, both on Car Free Day and at any other time:
- Hire one of the Lime Bikes or eScooters which now operate in the borough
- Join one of our all ability cycling sessions in Twickenham with bicycles adapted for people with learning, physical or sensory disabilities
- Take advantage of a 1-3 month bicycle hire using the Try Before You Bike scheme which includes bikes, e-bikes and cargo bikes
- Use a Low pollution route finder for your active travel journeys, which will help you stay away from more polluted roads
- Use a cycle route planner such as CycleStreets’ UK-wide Cycle Journey Planner or their Photomap Cycle journey planner to help you get around on wheels
- If you are over 60, make the most of the Older Person’s Freedom Pass giving you free travel on London’s underground, buses docklands light railway and trams at all times, as well as on some Overground and National Rail services.
Schools could run a walking footprints lesson for Car Free Day and to advertise the date to parents and carers who can make the school commute more interesting with walk to school activities from Living Streets.
Previous Car Free Day events
View previous Car Free Day events.
Ask About Asthma campaign
The Ask About Asthma campaign will run from Monday 11 to Sunday 17 September 2023. The campaign aims to raise awareness about children and young people's asthma, improve young people's asthma care, and increase understanding that air pollution can trigger asthma attacks.
Find out more about the Ask About Asthma campaign.
Idling Action Campaign
The Council has taken action on engine idling in the borough and we ask drivers to switch off engines when their vehicle is parked for more than one minute to avoid creating unnecessary air pollution. Idling action events have been held around schools, at level crossings and in Richmond town centre.
We are part of a coordinated London wide scheme tackling idling, called Idling Action. Together with the Mayor of London’s team, we work with primary schools to educate children about air quality, to raise awareness about idling and promote active travel to school.
Further information
For the latest information on Council-led campaigns, view:
Updated: 17 June 2024
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