A gas-powered leaf blower ban is entering its second year in the town of Westport, Connecticut, per Patch.
Various municipalities have introduced or enacted restrictions or bans on gas-powered leaf blowers, from a village in Illinois to the city of Philadelphia. In addition to noise pollution, excessive air pollution is a major reason jurisdictions in the United States have adopted bans on gas-powered leaf blowers.
"Four to 5% of all greenhouse gas emissions in the United States come from gas-powered lawn equipment. These are very high-emissions devices," Baltimore official Lisa Rodvien said in October.
Westport's ban on gas-powered leaf blowers officially went into effect on May 15, 2024, and the ordinance is seasonal. Under the new rule, residents and landscapers working in Westport are prohibited from using the common landscaping tools through October 15.
The ban was a long time coming, adopted as a town ordinance in January 2023. Westport Representative Town Meeting member and lead petitioner Kristin Schneeman credited "all the residents, students, landscapers" who had participated in "what was a very civil and productive dialogue" for the two years leading up to the adoption of the ordinance.
"We are hoping to see a significant change this year, with more property owners adopting compliant equipment and updating their landscaping habits," Westport Conservation Director Colin Kelly said, per Patch.
Last June, the Associated Press reported that bans on gas-powered leaf blowers were on the rise — and that not everyone was on board with the restrictions. According to the AP, commercial landscapers often objected because they felt electrical leaf blowers were "costlier and not nearly as effective as the gasoline-powered ones."
New Jersey Landscape Contractors Association president Rich Goldstein told the AP that his state is "bombarded with leaves and stuff to clean up" and that ordinances banning the equipment created a cost burden for landscaping companies.
"[At] my company, I have $150,000 to $200,000 worth of gas-powered blowers," Goldstein said. "What am I supposed to do, throw them in the garbage?"
Unfortunately, gas-powered leaf blowers aren't just effective when it comes to clearing yard waste. In 2021, the California Air Resources Board determined that one hour of blowing leaves generated pollution "comparable to driving a new light-duty passenger car about 1,100 miles — about the distance from Los Angeles to Denver, over 15 hours of driving."
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No way 🙅 When Westport's ordinance passed, Schneeman hoped other towns would adopt similar policies.
"It feels good to be able to say Westport is a leader in Connecticut on this issue, and I hope we'll see other communities following suit," she commented.
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