The focus this year is on engine idling, particularly at school drop off and pick up. 

Clean air is fundamental to our community health and wellbeing. It supports our children's development, helps prevent respiratory and cardiovascular disease, and helps protect the planet. When we breathe cleaner air, our communities flourish.

Clean Air Day creates an opportunity to amplify our collective impact by focusing on a small behavioural change that can make a meaningful difference to the air we all breathe – and there are many changes that we can take that makes that difference and switching your engine off when you stop is an easy one.

Chair of South Lanarkshire Council’s Community and Enterprise Resources Committee, Councillor Robert Brown, said: “Here in South Lanarkshire, we have been tackling engine idling for a number of years.

“We have a running programme where our "30 Good reasons for switching off" lamp post banners are displayed outside schools for a six week period throughout the year in an effort to reduce pollution from engine idling and educate the public on this form of pollution.”

Banners are currently displayed at the following Hamilton schools:
St Cuthberts Primary School; Townhill Primary School; Glenlee Primary School; Woodhead Primary School and St John Ogilvie High School and will be on display until the end of the school term.

Councillor Brown added: “By joining forces on this simple message of tackling engine idling together, we can help create a ripple effect of positive change in our communities and make engine idling a thing of the past in South Lanarkshire.”

The No Engine Idling campaign will continue until the end of March 2026.