Clean Air Day, taking place on 18 June this year, is the UK's biggest campaign dedicated to tackling air pollution and creating healthier places to live and work.
There is good reason to be optimistic about the future of air quality in the UK.
Air quality has improved at 99% of monitoring sites across London since 2019, with roadside nitrogen dioxide levels falling by 27% across the city. London has even achieved legal limits for nitrogen dioxide far earlier than previously predicted.
Despite this progress, air pollution remains the UK's biggest environmental threat to public health and is still linked to tens of thousands of deaths every year across the country.
At First Mile, we believe waste and recycling services should do more than collect rubbish – they should help create cleaner, healthier cities. That's why reducing the environmental impact of our operations has been a priority for more than a decade.
In 2025 alone, our services helped customers avoid 152,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions while delivering a carbon impact 35% lower than the industry average – real progress towards cleaner air and a lower-carbon future.
While air pollution continues to affect both people and the planet, this Clean Air Day we're focusing on the positive impact we're making through First Mile's Clean Air Strategy. Here are five ways we're helping improve air quality in 2026:
- Low Emission Deliveries
Reducing vehicle emissions is one of the most effective ways to improve urban air quality.
All our deliveries are done by Royal Mail, our delivery partner, who operates the UK’s largest electric van delivery fleet, with around 7,000 electric vans.
- Ultra-Low Emission Zone compliant HGVs:
Until electric HGVs are viable, First Mile continues to invest in its clean air fleet, ensuring all our HGVs are Euro VI. This means that our trucks release less than half the amount of nitrogen oxide and particulate matter of a standard diesel car, and three times less than the average black cab.
Cleaner vehicles mean cleaner air for the communities where we operate every day.
- Reducing road miles through smarter operations:
Our award-winning Materials Sorting Facility, located in Park Royal, allows us to process materials efficiently while reducing unnecessary vehicle movements across London.
By locating waste sorting closer to where collections take place, we can reduce road miles, ease congestion and lower emissions – all while increasing recycling performance.
It has revolutionised operations, leading to a reduced number of vehicles on the road, and fewer miles travelled, which has significantly lowered our impact on congestion and air pollution. It also runs entirely on green, renewable energy - which includes the electric vehicles charged on site.
- Consolidation Schemes:
First Mile works with a number of Business Improvement Districts and partners to consolidate their waste services. This has seen a huge reduction in the number of waste collection trucks on the road. - Pioneering Driver Technology:
Technology plays a crucial role in reducing the environmental impact of waste collections.
We have invested in route optimisation programmes to determine the most fuel-efficient route for our collection and delivery vehicles. Additionally, all our vehicles are fitted with telematics to deter heavy breaking, fast acceleration and idling, all of which increase emissions.
We’ve also launched our fleet of custom electric bikes for lower-carbon recycling collections in London. To date, we have 15 bike rounds that collect from our customers across the capital all with zero emissions.
Looking ahead
Creating cleaner air isn't a one-day initiative. It's an ongoing commitment.
As we continue to grow, we're focused on finding smarter ways to reduce emissions, increase recycling rates and help businesses operate more sustainably.
The results speak for themselves – just last year, First Mile diverted more than 190,000 tonnes of waste from landfill, helping customers reduce their environmental impact while supporting a growing circular economy.
This Clean Air Day, we're proud to be playing our part in helping create healthier, more sustainable cities for everyone.
Want to reduce your business’s impact on air quality? Get in touch with us at marketing@thefirstmile.co.uk or visit thefirstmile.co.uk to find out how we can tailor a recycling and waste solution for your organisation.
