Campaign for cleaner air
The quality of the air we breathe has a direct impact on our health and the natural environment. Nobody wants to breathe in dirty air!
Transport creates a large amount of pollution and is a major contributor to poor air quality in cities, so reducing your use of the car can help to tackle this problem. If you do use your car, please switch your engine off when stationary for more than a minute or two.
Wood burning is another major contributor to poor air quality. Log burners and bonfires produce harmful gases which can directly affect the health of people nearby.
We work with Eastleigh Borough Council, the New Forest District Council, Southampton City Council and Winchester City Council to deliver our ongoing wood burning campaign. Watch our short animation, The Hidden Harms of Woodsmoke, before learning more about air quality and wood burning on the tabs below.
Poor air quality affects human health as well as the environment. This short video from the World Health Organisation provides a summary of how air pollution affects our health.
WHO: Breathe Life – How air pollution impacts your body (youtube.com)
Our top tips for reducing exposure to outdoor air pollution.
- Walk, cycle or scoot whenever you can. Pedestrians and cyclists breathe cleaner air than those travelling in a vehicle.
- When you can, avoid walking along busy roads. Choose ways to get to your destination that use parks, green spaces, quiet streets and pedestrianised areas.
- Air pollution concentrates around the busiest roads. Getting even a short distance away from them can make a big difference. Quieter roads have been shown to reduce exposure to air pollution by 20%.
- Keep away from the edge of the road where possible, to reduce the amount of traffic fumes you are exposed to.
- Stand back from the road when waiting to cross at junctions, especially if you have babies in prams and young children with you, because they are closer to vehicle exhaust fumes.
- If you do have to drive, switch your engine off when you are stationary. It is less polluting to turn your engine off and restart it after a minute or longer, than to leave your engine running.
- Avoid firepits and bonfires if you can. Burning wood and other materials releases harmful chemicals into the air which are bad for our health.
You might also be interested in our full wood burning campaign.
In our homes, our health can be impacted by a variety of pollutants(1), including nitrogen dioxide from gas stoves and cookers(2), particulate matter from log burners and candles(3), as well as volatile organic compounds (VOCs) found in personal care, cleaning and DIY products, new furniture and building materials(4).
Our health can also be impacted by damp and mould.
Her are some top tips for how you can breathe cleaner air at home:
- Open windows away from busy roads, and trickle vents if you have them.
- When cooking, use extractor fans and cooker hoods or open windows. This helps to reduce nitrogen dioxide from gas cooking.
- Use fragrance-free cleaning and personal care products to reduce levels of VOCs. Avoid aerosols, sprays, and plug-in fragrances.
- When showering or bathing, use extractor fans or open windows to reduce the amount of moisture in the air.
- Avoid drying clothes inside – or leave a window open while they are drying.
- When painting or decorating, purchase products labelled “low VOCs”.
- Ventilate your home (by opening windows) after cleaning, painting, decorating, or buying new furniture.
- Regularly clean and vacuum to remove dust.
- Ask people not to smoke or vape in your home.
- Avoid burning – stoves, open fires, candles and incense sticks – or keep them for special occasions.
You might also be interested in our wood burning campaign.
(1) ‘The inside story: health effects of indoor air quality on children and young people‘, January 2020. Chief Medical Officer’s annual report 2022: air pollution, December 2022.
(2) ‘Meta-analysis of the effects of indoor nitrogen dioxide and gas cooking on asthma and wheeze in children‘, August 2013.
(3) ‘A systematic review on solid fuel combustion exposure and respiratory health in adults in Europe, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand‘, February 2022.
(4) ‘Volatile chemical products emerging as largest petrochemical source of urban organic emissions‘, February 2018.
Open the tabs below for facts about log burners and bonfires, and see our full wood burning campaign page for even more information about this important topic.
Log burners may look cosy and nostalgic but unfortunately, they do come with problems. The particles they release can cause health problems for you, your family and even your neighbours.
Many people believe it’s cheaper in the long run to use a log burner for keeping warm at home. This is sometimes true, but often, it is actually more expensive to purchase the burner itself and all the materials needed to use it. Global Action Plan’s report, ‘Relight my fire? Investigating the true cost of wood burning stoves’ delves deeper into this subject.
If you’re struggling to pay energy bills, please contact us as we might be able to help.
If you choose to use a log burner, we ask that you seek guidance from Woodsure.
Bonfires cause pollution and can be dangerous to wildlife. The particles released by bonfires are harmful and they contribute to overall poor air quality.
Some Local Authorities have introduced Smoke Control Areas where it is an offence to have a bonfire. This is because it’s deemed a nuisance or is in an area of poor air quality.
If you do have a bonfire, please make sure you are away from properties, you check for wildlife (particularly hedgehogs as they like to nestle in piles of garden waste), and you follow the burn clean regulations.
You might also wish to consider signing up for garden waste collections from your Local Authority.