The DAQ’s Public Education and Outreach program aims to enhance our interaction with the community and industry to create awareness and generate interest in air quality, transform behaviors and habits and encourage voluntary air pollution-reducing actions.
Clean Air Lawn Care (CALC) uses specific techniques and practices to minimize air pollution when performing lawn and garden maintenance. By changing how you mow your lawn or converting some of your turf grass to green space, you can reduce air pollution and save time and money. Make CALCulated choices when performing lawn and garden maintenance.
Lawn Mowing Ideas
Landscaping Ideas
- Convert Turf Grass to Green Space(PDF, 158KB)
- Native Grasses & Forbs(PDF, 186KB):
- Several turf grass was converted to native prairie by planting the following native grasses and forbs: (grasses) big bluestem, Indian areas grass, switchgrass, little bluestem, prairie dropseed, purple top, buffalo grass, side oats grama, blue grama, purple love grass, (forbs) red sage, prairie blazing star, blue false indigo, white false indigo, purple coneflower, pale purple coneflower, black-eyed susan, blue lobelia, lead plant, and butterfly milkweed. The Kansas Native Plant Society has chosen the Unified Government of Wyandotte County/KCK - Department of Air Rachel Snyder Award Quality’s Clean Air Lawn Care Project to receive the Rachael Snyder Memorial Landscape Award at the 2007 KNPS Annual Meeting in Hutchinson, KS.
- Plant ground cover
- Plant trees and shrubs
- Build rock gardens, water gardens, patios, and decks
CALCulate the air pollution you generate when you mow and trim your yard. For every hour you spend mowing and trimming, you create the following amounts of air pollution.
| Pollutant |
Mowing (lbs.) |
Trimming (lbs.) |
| Carbon Monoxide (CO) |
4.05 |
2.3 |
| Carbon Dioxide (CO2) |
4.4 |
3.3 |
| Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) |
0.004 |
0.002 |
| Particulate Matter (PM) |
0.013 |
0.006 |
| Volatile Organic Carbons (VOC) |
0.39 |
0.78 |
UG Clean Commute is a program that provides UG employees a no cost opportunity to use a Trek Hybrid bicycle for commuting, short trips, errands, and even personal use. As part of the Clean Commute program, the UG received three Trek hybrid bicycles for UG employees to use as alternative transportation.
Call (913) 573-6700 to reserve a bicycle.
Reduce your carbon footprint and help reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions. The Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce’s Carbon Footprint Calculator will give your organization a way to measure your sustainability plan.
Several things to do to reduce pollution, save our environment, and save money:
Change a Light
If every American home replaced just one light bulb or fixture with an Energy Star, every year, we would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes, more than $600 million in energy costs, and prevent greenhouse gases equivalent to the emissions of more than 800,000 cars.
Use Less Hot Water
Lots of energy is used to heat water. By installing low-flow shower heads and faucets, using cold or warm water to do laundry, running the dishwasher only when full, and turning the water heater setting down, you can reduce energy usage and save money.
Adjust Your Thermostat
Moving your thermostat down by (2) degrees in winter and up by (2) degrees in summer would save about 2000 pounds of carbon dioxide a year.
Plant a Tree
A single tree will absorb one ton of carbon dioxide over its lifetime. If located on the south and west side of your home, a deciduous tree will help cool your home in the summer with shade.
Conserve Energy
Turn off electronic devices (televisions, DVD players, stereo, computers, etc.) when you are not using them, and save thousands of pounds of carbon dioxide each year.
Buy Local
Shipping products to retail stores consume large amounts of fuel and energy. Buying local products from close to home is sustainable in several ways. Also, products with less packaging reduce what goes to our landfills.
More Information
The Department of Air Quality (DAQ) provides indoor air quality information to citizens in Wyandotte County. The State of Kansas and EPA currently have no “standards of care” for residential indoor air quality, nor have threshold levels of exposure to common indoor pollutants been established to protect public health.
Indoor air pollution is the result of both artificial materials and biological materials which are released or produced in or near the home. Typical pollutants found in homes are (VOC’s) volatile organic compounds, formaldehyde, particulates, radon, lead, asbestos, biologicals such as mold spores, and a combination of gases and by-products. These pollutants come from various sources such as household cleaning products, wood, and fuels burned, building materials and remodeling products, furnishings, paint, paint strippers, pesticides, the soil under the house, human activity, wet conditions that promote mold growth, and our pets.
Clean air is a precious commodity both inside and outside. We have been concerned about the air outdoors for a long time. However, Americans now spend most of their time indoors. Unfortunately, the air inside our homes may be more polluted and dangerous than the air outside. Citizens need to know what those pollutants are and how to reduce their levels inside their homes. Indoor air problems can be annoying and unpleasant, create discomfort or lead to health problems or even death. While a single pollutant at a low level may not be a health risk, some homes have multiple sources contributing to indoor air pollution. Some health effects from poor indoor air quality may be experienced immediately; others require long-term exposure. Some health effects disappear after removing the person from the source of the pollution.
Common health effects of poor indoor air quality include eye, nose, and throat irritation, headaches, dizziness, fatigue, asthma, upper respiratory infections, and cancer. There is considerable controversy regarding what concentrations or periods of exposure are necessary to produce specific health problems. People react differently due to sensitivity, age, and medical conditions. Fortunately, there are ways to control or eliminate these pollutants relatively cheaply. These measures can help you achieve a healthy house.
More Information
The Environmental Protection Agency
Unified Government Code of Ordinance
| Chapter # |
Chapter Title |
Article # |
Article Title |
Section(s) |
| 3 |
Air Pollution |
All |
All |
All |
Kansas State Statute (K.S.A)
| Chapter # |
Chapter Title |
Article # |
Article Title |
Section(s) |
| 65 |
Public Health |
30 |
Air Quality Control |
65-3016
|