Cleaning up London’s toxic air

I’ve done simple things:

Cycled to work for over 20 years (14 mile round trip);

Reduced meat consumption;

Reduced car use;

Increased use of public transport;

Worked with local groups to change over to LED bulbs;

Campaigned to improve air quality in our local area;

Ensure I am on the greenest energy tariffs available. 

Given strategic central (government) support and initiatives, I’d be prepared, for example, to:

Do without a car;

Switch completely to sustainable energy;

Vastly reduce meat consumption;

Use locally and sustainably grown seasonal produce;

Give up air travel.

I think heating is probably the biggest cause of damage by our household, as we live centrally and moslty walk or get buses etc. The old hosuing stock (geogian) we live in is very energy-ineffficient, but the landlord refuses to invest in anything to improve the insulation - eg lagging the loft, secondary glazing etc. We have had to pay out to do this, to make the property ok to live in. But there is no security of tenure for private rented people. 

Outside, the thing I would most like to see is the reduction of lights left on in offices, shops etc all night. It it totally un =neccessary and wasteful - and causes light pollution and pooer sleep.

I have recently changed all my old light bulbs for LED ones. More expensive to buy, but they use far less energy and last almost indefinitely. I have a Freedom Pass and use it as much as possible. 

However I do have an issue with the forthcoming expansion of the ULEZ in 2021.  I really don't think it will be very effective as there will still be a lot of buses, trucks and other internal combustion vehicles using this huge area, not to mention building emissions.

My main concern is my own car. Its a classic 21-year-old Jaguar, is very well maintained and at its recent MOT, the emissions were well below the EURO4 standard which is the ULEZ requirement. But purely due to its age it would be deemed as non-compliant. I really don't want to have to get rid of it, it will appreciate in value if I can keep it in good condition.  There will be a small number of classic car owners in a similar position, and I think we should be allowed exemption from the ULEZ.  The very few cars in this situation would have a negligible effect on London air pollution, especially as they are generally not driven much.   I'd be interested to hear what other Londoners think.

We've installed solar panels which are great and switched to a green energy company.  Also replaced our old boiler and installed LED bulbs.  We would love to get rid of our old diesel and replace with something more enery efficient but need some sort of diesel scrappage scheme to assist with this.

when we came back to London in December 2015 we decided not to buy a car but go on TFL, but the government doesn't make it easy with all those prices these days. If you live in London and you work in London you actually don't need a car.

Give busses the right of way, I think it will stimulate people to take the bus instead

I have never owned a car - its not necessary in London. I recycle most rubbish except for a small bag of non-recyclable plastic each week. We have been holidaying in the uk for the past few years so no flying. We buy green electricity and have loft insulation. Bought a new more energy efficient boilder last year, and monthly bills went down. I buy most energy efficient products at reasonable price. Use the mantras: "reduce, reuse, recycle" and "think global, act local". So I don't consume unless necessary, mend/repair if they break, then find a way to recycle at the end. Have ethical investments, hardly eat red meat.

Next things for the house would be under-floor insulation and external wall insulation - its a solid wall house. We did think about solar panels, but our electricity is already green, and I wasn't convinced that a solar hot water system would really ever pay back seeing as we hardly use any gas in the summer, and there is so little sun in the winter.

I have always been worried about traffic pollution, and always thought the push to diesel was a big mistake. As a principle the polluter should pay the cost of their pollution, that would give them an incentive. And it really bothers me the way people change their smart phones every couple of years and buy so many clothes they just wear once. But I agree with others who say there should be carrot as well as stick.

I cycle as much as possible, but often find it hard to find safe places to lock up. We need lots more bike racks around the city (Soho is particularly terrible!). A lot of my friends don't cycle because they can't get a bike into their flat - we need at least one of those metal secure bike parking sheds on every residential street to make it easier for people to choose cycling as an option.

I'd love to see more electrical charging points to help people make the switch to electric vehicles.

I use ZipCar rather than owning a car and love it. It would be great if sharing companies were also encouraged to make their fleets as electric as possible.

I'd love to have more easily accessible advice about how I could make my flat more energy efficient and what steps I'd need to take to get council approval for works like changing to a greener boiler option.

I've always been baffled as to why all new buildings in London don't have to have solar panels as standard.

I would ban tourist buses, Uber and above all the myriad of vehicles rushing round London delivering groceries and small parcels. The latter should be returned to the Post Office. A broader issue is generation of electricity -wind power turbines simply slaughter birds and solar panels need to cover most of the country. The answer is to build new generation mini nuclear power stations.

I use a gas kettle. It is significantly cheaper to run than an electric kettle. Its generally cheaper to buy than an electric kettle. And overall produces less emissions than an electric kettle.

Hello

I am reducing the number of plastic bottles I buy. I buy mostly the big box of food rather than the small. I am using Bulb company as electricity and gas provider at home. They are using some quotes of recycled energies

Hello,

There are many things we can do but we need your help. Right now the only thing I can do is:

-Going to work walking (just outside ULEZ zone so I'm breathing all the cars fumes).

-I have a bike I don´t use because I am scared of cars and buses but I would love using one day.

Suggestions:

-I would be ok to pay more taxes if buses were replaced by zero emission ones and would be free in the ULEZ zone.

For instance: Scotland is already asking for free public transport.

https://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/scottish-greens-call-for-free-pu…

- Planting more trees and plants that clear the air fast in public areas or in the highways. For instance: Mexico´s project Via Verde (Green Way) 

https://letitgrow.org/green-initiatives/via-verde/

If you could make any of this happening I am sure the next steps will be easier. I am ready to pay taxes or to invest in starts up that make that changes. Will you make it happen?

Thank you

I live in a hostel so I tried to make my hostel more envrionmentally friendly but the council doesn't offer help to companies and the hostel is not keen on spending money on saving energy. It would be great if it would be compulsary for hostels to have more help and fines if they don't reduce their impact. For instance: free water and energy devices.

https://citysave.westminster.gov.uk/families/?id=365

We have tried to reduce our single-use plastic by shopping at a new plastic-free shop, Mission Green, that's opened on Hither Green Lane. It allows me to fill up bottles and jars of foods like dried fruit, flour, spices, loose-leaf tea, rice, beans, pasta, washing up liquid, laundry detergent, etc. I can't give up the convenience of online shopping entirely, however, so for fresh food, we spend a bit more to buy organic vegetables that come in compostable nets rather than plastic wrapping. We are also considering restarting our milk bottle delivery. 

In terms of driving, whereever possible, my family and I try to walk, cycle or take public transport. When funds allow (hopefully later this summer) it is our top priority to ditch our diesel car and go fully electric.

I am also a member of a local Clean Air group, working to raise local awareness and drive behaviour change (we're running a big event on 20th June - Clean Air Day) and I'm active in the PTA at my children's school, where we recently planted a hedge to try to freshen the air in the playground.

My family and I have also planted more flowers and plants in our garden and have indoor plants that are meant to absorb some of the more toxic fumes that come in from the busy road outside.

There is a LOT more to be done and I although it is encouraging to see the Mayor is working towards a zero carbon city, I would like to see the government be far more aggressive in their actions to achieve that goal faster. I also think ULEZ needs to be extended and the infrastructure for electric vehicles improved.

On the negative side, my car is a Skoda Octavia diesel, bought in 2001 when the then Government were in favour of diesels!  Times of course have changed, but I probably do less that 1000 miles/year anyway. I live in Enfield so if we go in to the centre of London, we typically take the train anyway - specially with a Freedom Pass !

I am a director (Treasurer) of the block of 21 flats where we live, and a few years ago we were lucky to get cavity wall insulation done at no cost to ourselves. We also recycle and have a 1200 litre bin and I'm pleased to say it is pretty well full up after two weeks. We have a compost heap as well - mainly for the grass cuttings.

All the flats have double glazing. We are with EON and do have a smart meter in our flat, for what that's worth - I understand that: has cost the UK around £12M and if you change supplier, you have to quite often change the meter - oh dear !

We use energy efficient light bulbs and I think that climate change is clearly happening - you only have to see the reduction in ice at the poles and also be aware that low lying areas round the World have become submerged.

I can fully understand the angst of climate change folk in marching and so on, but they have to be careful not to alienate folk too much - flying drones near Heathrow etc would be a step too far in my view.

I have never used a car, walk for up to 20min, and use bus, tube or train for longer journeys.  My central heating has been switched off for years.  My energy supplier complains I use too little energy.  Think I am doing my fair share.

Cars with only one driver - which make up a large percentage of traffic should pay more congestion charge and road tax. Also there should be a crackdown on the school run - a million unnecessary journeys a day in the capital

I use my cycle as much as possible and try to have several car-free days each week. I would like to see much more enforcement of traffic laws to change the culture which says that speeding is OK as long as you don't get caught; ditto using a mobile phone at the wheel and infringing on cycle lanes and pavements. Many drivers seem to think it's OK to drive on pavements if it gets them to their destination more quickly, and to park on them to enable the traffic to flow more easily. They are also unaware that it is an offence to stop at traffic lights in the Advance Stop Line box. We need more protected cycle lanes with no car parking in them, to encourage people of all ages and abilities to cycle. Currently it's mostly the brave, young and fit who cycle - it should be for everyone. This would reduce pollution and congestion (cycles take up much less space than cars, per person transported) and make us healthier, saving money for the NHS and social care services. We have a Tyoe 2 diabetes epidemic in Harrow, where I live, and enabling active travel would help. Diabetes ruins lives.

We have also installed solar panels on our roof ands save over £1000 a year in electricity costs. I garden organically and grow some of my own veg. We have improved draughtproofing and insulation.

I have asthma and am 70. I live in EC1. No car just walking and public  transport. My real problem is petrol and diesel vehicles and very fast cyclists , especially on pavements and those scooters.

We have moved to good energy, and to a largely vegan and vegetarian diet. I choose walking routes where possible with low traffic and use an app rep high pollution warnings. This means there are days when it’s not safe for me to go out. I would like less polluting traffic and better separation of non motorized transport and pedestrians. 

It would be nice to be able to use a trike so wide enough cycle paths and a slower cycling for all city culture. I think folk forget there is a large resident population in central London and lots of council tenants who are on modest incomes so have no control over double/treble glazing or boiler changes.

- subsidize purchase of EV and improve access to charging points, reduce car traffic when pollution gets too high like they do in France, by banning half the cars. Improve public transport, train is really expensive and not good value for money.- subsidize solar panels and other clean energies. 

- force big supermarkets to reduce unnecessary package and switch to more environmentally friendly when unavoidable. Waitrose is already trying (https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/jun/04/waitrose-launches-pack…).

- (re)introduce organic waste recycling and composting schemes, already working in some areas but not available in others.

Here some lifestyle tips which you could facilitate through posters with carbon footprints, or a tax/VAT system encouraging theres choices

Food:

- I always buy fruits and vegetables in corner stores that need to be eaten immediately or I need to cut some away. Most of the time I get them for free anyway, or a huge discount.

- Always carry 1 or 2 cloth carrier bags to not have to accept a plastic bag. You really should forbd free plastic bags like other European countries have done 30 years ago.

- buy fruits lose/not put them in plastic bag

- No fruits from outside Europe/Southern hemisphere

- No wine from outside Europe

- Switched to black coffee instead of milk coffee

-no takeaway food that comes overly wrapped

Other

- cycle everywhere, use rain trousers/rain backpack cover/ gloves

- invested lots of money in solar energy projects in spain

- sign all petitions and EU petitons that aim at fighting global warming

- holidays in beautiful destinations nearby that can be reached by train