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The holidays can be a hard time for many local families and organizations in our area. Every year, the staff at SLO County APCD select a local non-profit organization and pull our resources to provide some assistance to those in need. 

This year we are gathering items for the local Boys & Girls Clubs in SLO County and we need your help! They have a vision to address the unmet out-of-school needs of youngsters in each of the San Luis Obispo communities. We are collecting donations for kids in elementary through high school. A donation box is located in our office lobby and we will deliver all items to them the week before Christmas. 

Here is an example of some of the items that we are collecting: 

• Sidewalk chalk
• Pencil sharpeners
• Cooking supplies
• Horse shoes
• Playstation 3 games
• Gift cards for office supplies
• Glue sticks
• Pens/pencils/markers
• Sports equipment
• Other art supplies

Please call our office at 805-781-5912 if you have any questions, or would like to help us gather items! We thank you for your help!

The SLO County APCD has developed a door hanger to inform local residents about the impacts that wood smoke has and what they can do to protect themselves, their neighbors & family, and pets too! 

In your lifetime, you will breath in an average of 8 million cubic feet of air, so the quality of the air you breathe really matters! To see our new flyers, click here to view in English and Spanish! 

You can also be aware of local air quality conditions in your area by checking the APCD website or following @SLOCleanAir on Twitter for daily air quality updates!

 

Each holiday season, residential energy consumption increases while thousands of paper and plastic shopping bags end up in landfills. Both activities contribute to air pollution due to the increased energy used to process waste and illuminate those merry light bulbs. Here are a few helpful tips to reduce waste, cut energy bills and preserve our clean air:

• Use energy efficient / LED lights. Doing so will not only save energy, but will also help your lights last longer.
• Visit a local Farmers' Market to purchase items for your holidays meals & reduce the amount of miles your food has to travel to get to your plate. 
• Encourage your out of town friends and relatives to travel here without their cars.Visit SLOCarFree.org for great discounts on Amtrak, hotels, restaurants, and activities.  
• Plan your shopping in advance. Consolidating your shopping trips saves fuel and parking aggravation.
• For gifts that require batteries, use rechargeable ones and consider giving a battery charger as well.
• Give gifts that require little packaging, such as event tickets, cooking classes or other activities that can be shared. 
• Walk, ride a bike or carpool to holiday parties to minimize gas emissions. 
• If you buy a cut tree, be sure to recycle it or buy a potted tree and plant it after the holidays. 
• Buy food or products that are locally grown or produced to support local businesses and reduce the miles they travel.