Ostrava Helps Improve Air Quality

The air in Ostrava has been significantly improving in the long term. The current dust emissions from industrial sources have decreased to five per cent of the level of 30 years ago. While the city’s position and emissions from Poland cannot be affected, Ostrava is gradually mitigating the impacts of other influences. In particular, it addresses over-limit cleaning of roads, greening, greening of municipal mass transport, replacement of boilers and supporting the Fund for Children Endangered by Air Pollution.

“We are significantly greening municipal mass transport, paying contributions to Ostrava citizens for boiler replacement and sending children to the mountains. Since the establishment of the fund for children endangered by air pollution in May 2010, this year inclusive, almost 18,000 school and pre-school children have set off for trips to the mountains. For the fund’s lifetime we have increased the city’s contribution from the original five million to this year’s 22 million and the contribution per child from 4,500 to 6,000 Czech crowns, to ensure a higher quality of meals and accommodation,” stated the Deputy Mayor for Environment Kateřina Šebestová.

The City of Ostrava contributes to each applicant from Ostrava for an old boiler replacement by an environmentally-friendly one with an amount of CZK 10,000 for its budget, offering a non-interest-bearing loan option. In the first round, 422 Ostrava citizens applied for the boiler replacement by a new one, while 633 applications bearing an Ostrava address have been received in the second round. These are altogether 1055 modern ecological boilers. Each boiler of this type produces as much as 100 kg of dust per year less. Out of the total number of solid fuel fired boilers, of which there are supposed to be about two and a half thousand in Ostrava, replacement efficiency is currently 53%.

Not only are the fleet of the city, districts and municipal police being greened, which currently includes 33 CNG vehicles and electric cars (it will be 48 ecological vehicles in autumn 2018), but so are the means of the municipal mass transport. As part of the city’s strategic plan, Ostrava has set a target that the Ostrava transport undertaking will increase the number of emission-free or low-emission vehicles from the current 71% to 95% in 2023.

Tomáš Macura, Mayor of Ostrava, handed over six alternative-drive vehicles to the representatives of the municipal police of Ostrava and city districts on Wednesday 21 February. We informed you about that last week. Zdeněk Harazim, the Municipal Police Director, took over two VW Caddy vehicles with compressed natural gas (CNG) drive. Volkswagen e-UP! electromobiles were handed over to the mayors of Radvanice and Bartovice, Slezská Ostrava and Hrabová.

Photos source: https://moap.ostrava.cz/cs/o-moapu/aktualne/na-ozdravnem-pobytu-se-detem-libi