Clean Air Day mural pollution sucks up in Euston Road, London

Passers-by and potential voters were invited to scan a QR code painted on the wall with its interactive elements that ‘catch’ air pollution.

The mural, towering 25ft above the pavement, worked by using ‘resysten’ technology, a specialist paint that can reduce nitrous oxide levels in the atmosphere by up to 73 per cent when applied to concrete and brick.

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The paint breaks down pollutants into harmless salts that are found naturally, which are then blown away with the weather.

The longer the paint is on the mural, the more pollutants it absorbs from the air.  

The mural was brought to life by the environmental charity Global Action Plan, working with Dentsu marketing agency for this year’s Clean Air Day.

“Solutions to air pollution already exist,” Global Action’s Nicky O’Malley insists. “Part of our goal is that people in urban areas like London can breathe clean air by 2030.

“So we want action to make sure we can all travel in cleaner and greener ways.”  

The charity chose the Euston Road by the Euston Underpass for the mural as one of London’s busiest traffic routes to call on the next government to ‘drive’ towards greener transport.

Its plan of action, appropriately called This Campaign Sucks, uses technology and art to create public awareness of air pollution.

Meanwhile, campaign group Mums for Lungs says that whoever forms the next government needs to address the issue with robust clean air legislation and commit to reaching World Health Organisation recommendations by phasing out diesel vehicles and unnecessary wood burning by 2030.

London’s Low Emissions Zones are claimed to have helped towards a 4.5 per cent reduction in health problems like respiratory issues linked to asthma and bronchitis.

But campaigners point out, with July 4 in mind, that high levels of London’s air pollution are still the big issue — even after the polls close.