Two further moss filters are being installed in Hereford City
Following the introduction of the first moss filter in Hereford in the summer, two further moss filters are now being installed in the City.
Air pollution causes heart and lung disease and results in between 28,000 and 36,000 deaths every year in the UK (Gov.uk). Clean air is essential for our health, and clean air measures are good for our wellbeing as well as being good for the planet.
Moss is one of nature’s best air filters with the ability to absorb and metabolise fine dust and particles, helping to naturally clean the air we breathe. Moss also stores and evaporates large amounts of moisture which cools the air.
The new, innovative moss filters being installed in Hereford each take up about the same amount of space as one tree, however due to the enormous surface area of moss, a moss filter is more efficient at filtering the air. Each moss filter can clean about 80% of fine dust and particles from the air around it.
The moss filters will be located in busy traffic areas in the City where they will use specially selected mosses to help absorb pollution. The first was installed at Eign Gate last June, where it has been working to naturally clean the air around it and provide a pleasant place to sit. The two new filters are currently being fitted outside The Courtyard and in Eign St (by the great western way underpass traffic light junction), where they will also help to clean the City air when the moss is installed and they become operational in a few weeks’ time.
The moss filters contain integrated smart sensors which provide performance and condition information, so the impact on the local air quality will be available to see on the council’s website www.herefordshire.gov.uk/climate-2/moss-filters.
The three moss filters have been funded jointly by the council and Marches LEP as part of the ongoing £6m Hereford City Centre Improvement project, which is enhancing the City Centre environment thanks to investment to encourage people to spend more time in the City when they visit, helping to boost the local economy.