Sefton Council is getting behind Clean Air Day this year and urging people to take small steps to make a big difference to air pollution in Sefton.

Air pollution is damaging to the health of our population and can be particularly damaging to the health and development of children and young people. The national Clean Air Day campaign focuses on the impact of air pollution on children and how adults can make small changes to protect them.

The past year has been encouraging for Sefton in terms of air pollution, with all air quality monitoring stations seeing a significant reduction in levels of Nitrogen Dioxide (NO₂). This has been largely due to reduced traffic levels  in our borough as a result of the pandemic. In some areas, this reduction in traffic has been as high as 50% and this has translated into large improvement in air quality.

These good results come as lockdown restrictions begin to ease and road traffic increases. There are many alternatives to travelling alone in a car, particularly for short journeys. Changing how we travel is just one way that people can help to maintain the recent decreases in air pollution.

Cllr Paulette Lappin, Cabinet Member for Regulatory and Corporate Services said:

“Clean Air Day is an important initiative to raise awareness of the issue of air quality and prompt people to change their behaviour

“The pandemic changed the way we live and work and, in many ways, this has been good for the air quality in Sefton, but we mustn’t go back to normal!

“We cannot just think about clean air on Clean Air Day, this is something that matters to everyone, all the time. Everyone can make a small change to make our borough cleaner and greener”

Sefton Council is keen to maintain this progress in cleaning up our air and is using Clean Air Day to raise awareness of the small things people can do that will keep our air pollution levels falling.

Some top tips include:

• No idling! If you’ve stopped your car, turn it off!
• Consider Active Travel for short journeys – walk, run, cycle!
• Consider a low emission vehicle.
• Use public transport where you can!

You can find more info on air quality in Sefton at our website