Salt Lake City

Sustainability

Contact SLCgreen (801) 535-6470 | slcgreen@slcgov.com

What You Can Do for Air Quality

Air quality starts with you! Here are simple actions you can take today to help keep our air clean.

   

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Improve Air Quality

Stay informed. Sign up for air quality email alerts provided by the Utah Department of Air Quality, or download the UtahAir app for iPhone or Android. Take action on “voluntary” days– those days when an inversion is forecasted but air pollution is not yet unhealthy. This is when we have the greatest opportunity to make a difference!

Wood burning. One of the most common sense measures is to not burn wood in the winter. Wood burning is a big polluter — one wood burning stove puts out as much pollution as 3,000 natural gas furnaces or 90 sport utility vehicles!

Stay idle free. This is one of the easiest things you can do to have a positive impact. Idling wastes gas and money and adds unnecessary pollution into our air. Plus when you idle, you’re exposing yourself and your passengers to higher levels of harmful pollutants.

Drive Less and Drive Cleaner. Transportation accounts for nearly 50% of wintertime particulate pollution. So skip unnecessary trips, carpool, link errands together, and take public transportation. Check out SLC’s half-cost transit pass for residents, the Hive Pass. If you’re in the market for a new car, consider an all-electric, hybrid, or low-emission model. Look for cars with cleaner smog ratings.

Avoid VOC’sVOC’s can be a big problem and they’re in a lot of products—so you use low-VOC paint, non-aerosol personal care products, and other home supplies like carpet cleaner and air freshener that are certified by the EPA’s “Design for Environment” program.

Electrified transportation. From ozone in the summer to particulate matter pollution in the winter, we are consistently breathing in harmful pollution. Transportation accounts for most of our local air pollution. Electric cars are the cleanest option for passenger vehicles – they don’t even have tailpipes!