More information
Description
A report by the European Environment Agency (2019) shows that the number of fatalities due to polluted air in Poland is one of the highest in Europe. The sources of air pollution in Poland are mainly municipal and household emissions as well as transport (the Supreme Audit Office’s Report, no. P/19/031). The analysis carried out for the purposes of updating the Bydgoszcz Environmental Protection Programme regarding air protection revealed high air pollution caused by burning solid fuels in cookers, a significant share of communal housing resources in low emissions, and a small number of liquidated old heating devices in relation to the inventoried ones. An opportunity to improve air quality is the implementation of educational programmes and further subsidies for the replacement of cookers. However, it is necessary to intensify actions. The project aims to engage citizens of the City of Bydgoszcz in grassroots anti-smog activities. The main target group of the project are adult inhabitants, especially in those areas of the city where air quality is the lowest. Five Neighbourhood Anti-Smog Groups will be established to carry out participatory and educational actions aimed at reducing low emissions. The Urban Anti-Smog Team evaluates the undertakings of the City of Bydgoszcz and the Neighbourhood Anti-Smog Groups and complements the city''s catalogue of measures to improve air quality. Expansion of the network of low-cost sensors improves access to information about air pollution. All project activities, including the information and education campaign, are based on a comprehensive diagnosis. The impact of the project is strengthened by activities directed to activists and representatives of local governments at the regional level. The project is implemented by the Laboratory of Sustainable Development with the Bydgoszcz Smog Alarm and the City of Bydgoszcz.
Summary of project results
The aim of the Bydgoszcz Anti-smog Switch project was to involve residents Bydgoszcz to improve air quality through grass-roots activities for local implementation policy - Environmental Protection Program. Implementation of participatory and educational activities by 5 The aim of the Neighborhood Anti-smog Groups was to reduce low emissions reducing the number of its sources. The results of anti-smog activities in housing estates evaluated by the Municipal Team Anti-smog campaigns were intended to supplement the catalog of activities to improve air quality and contributed to them implementation in other parts of the city. The construction of a network of low-cost sensors and an information and educational campaign increased access to information on air pollution in the immediate vicinity of residents and strengthened the system urban air monitoring, and also increased the awareness and involvement of residents in the fight against poor air quality in Bydgoszcz.
As part of the project, we established five Neighborhood Anti-smog Groups (OGA) in the most smog-polluted housing estates in Bydgoszcz. The groups diagnosed the problem of pollution in housing estates and developed strategies for grassroots actions to improve air quality. The effects of OGA''s activities included: an in-depth analysis of smog ''hot spots'' along with recommendations for decision-makers, as well as anti-smog competitions in educational institutions, and the planting of new shrubs and trees. At the same time, we established the Municipal Anti-Smog Team (MZA), which included representatives of the Bydgoszcz City Hall departments, the City Guard, the Municipal Houses Administration, the Municipal Heating Plant, city eco-advisors and activists and representatives of five OGAs. The result of the work of both OGA and MZA groups was the creation of recommendations for the Mayor of the City, which should become part of local policies aimed at improving air quality in Bydgoszcz. Another implemented action is to improve access to information on air pollution in Bydgoszcz and the surrounding area by building a network of low-cost air quality sensors - https://bydgoszcz.aqi.eco/pl/map At the same time, we conducted an information and educational campaign, providing eco-advice to people in the process of replacing the furnace and informing residents through a social media campaign about available funding opportunities, the health effects of smog and anti-smog regulations. We invited students from three secondary schools to workshops on low emission issues and involved them in carrying out mini projects to improve air quality in the immediate vicinity of schools. At the end of the project, we organized a regional debate on the implementation of anti-smog regulations for representatives of local government authorities, non-governmental organizations and informal groups from the region, where we discussed tools and methods of implementing anti-smog solutions in the communes of the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship.
The observed changes include an increase in the dialogue on air protection between the MUB departments, the KPEC heating company, the City Guard, the Municipal Houses Administration, Housing Estate Councils, activists, NGOs, schools and anti-smog initiatives from the region. The involvement of the Air Protection Department of the Bydgoszcz Municipal Office in the project contributed to a significant improvement in the eco-advisory offer of the City of Bydgoszcz. A mobile advisory point was opened, operated by employees of the Department at the Family Benefits Department of the Municipal Office, where residents came to apply for a coal allowance. The city also launched a second mobile eco-advice point in the Rondo shopping center. In the period from December 2022 to the end of April 2023 inclusive, over 100 residents received assistance in planning and the heating replacement process, as well as in obtaining funding. The CEEB info-edu campaign contributed to a high percentage of submitted declarations - for Bydgoszcz in July it amounted to over 70% of entities covered by the obligation. OGA members, thanks to their knowledge of the local context and the involvement resulting from where they live, efficiently identified the main problems to be solved in the housing estates, determined the sources of low emissions and jointly developed the best methods of corrective actions and activities contributing to raising the awareness of residents. The sensing performance exceeded our expectations. Ultimately, we purchased 61 air quality sensors, which allowed us to cover the entire city with an air quality monitoring network. Thanks to this, residents have access to information about air quality in their area. We have also seen positive results from our activities in schools. Students of the Construction School Complex became permanently involved with the project. They participated in workshops on low emissions, an anti-smog happening, assembling air quality sensors, and mobile walking measurements. Similarly in Secondary School II and IV Secondary School.