Entrepreneurs sell canned Australian air to Chinese buyers

Would you pay nearly $20 for a can of air from Bondi Beach?

Bondi Beach Source: AAP

yaurTwo Sydney entrepreneurs have started selling bottles of Australian air to Chinese buyers, promising a brief reprieve for residents of smoggy cities like Beijing. 

Green and Clean are selling bottled air from iconic Australian locations including the Blue Mountains, Bondi Beach, the Yarra Valley and Tasmania for $18.80 a pop.

Bottles of air for sale on the Green and Clean website. Source: Green and Clean

"We want to give people internationally a chance to taste what our beautiful air is like," Mr Dickinson told the Sydney Morning Herald.

Mr Dickinson said the air canisters had been intended as souvenirs, but Chinese buyers came to seek the product out for perceived health benefits. Private shopper Vivian Zhou told Seven News she was buying the canisters and shipping them to clients in China. 

Air pollution is believed to be responsible for around 4,000 deaths in China every day. 38 per cent of the population live in an area with a long-term air quality average that the US Environmental Protection Agency calls "unhealthy".

Green and Clean say each can of Australian air contains around 130 deep breaths, putting the price of each inhalation at about 15 cents. 

SBS has contacted consumer group Choice for comment.