A new campaign urging drivers to switch off their engines when parked has been launched.

The campaign against Idling particularly focuses on turning off engines outside schools to protect children's growing lungs from unnecessary pollution. 

Idling engines, where a car is stationery with its engine on, cause peaks in harmful pollutants which when breathed in overtime can lead to asthma, heart disease, cancer and stunt children's growing lungs. 

Children are particularly vulnerable to the effects of pollution because their height puts them closer to exhaust fumes, they breathe more rapidly than adults and so absorb more pollutants and because their developing organs are more easily damaged.

Children living in highly polluted areas are four times more likely to have reduced lung function in adulthood, improving air quality for children has been shown to halt and reverse this effect.  

Cllr Paul West, cabinet member; Mrs Daley, Eco Council lead and pupils of Castle Hill Infant and Junior School (Picture: Suffolk CC)

A study published in January 2024, found that hospital admissions among children were "significantly associated" with exposure to higher levels of air pollution over a two-week period and that only around half of them would have needed hospital care if pollution had been within legal limits. 

Research shows that idling engines produce up to twice the amount of exhaust emissions compared to when a vehicle is moving. In a survey carried out in Suffolk at the end of 2022, 35% of respondents said they never switch their engine off when parked or stationery.

Councillor Paul West, Cabinet Member for Ipswich, Operational Highways and Flooding, said: "The evidence is there, pollution is damaging our health and damaging the environment.

Switching our engines off when parked is a simple action we can all take and it's been proven to make a huge difference to air quality, particularly outside schools. This campaign is just one of the actions Suffolk County Council and its partners are taking, through our joint Air Quality Strategy work, to improve air quality in the county for residents and visitors alike."

Suffolk County Council has joined forces with schools across the county along with Babergh, Mid Suffolk, East Suffolk, Ipswich and West Suffolk Councils to deliver the campaign.  

For more information visit www.healthysuffolk.org.uk/airquality.

To request materials, email: [email protected].