Greetings, dear lawn maintenance folks! We want to reach out with some info and to begin working with you towards a cleaner, quieter shared environment.

Currently:

• More than 150 municipalities across the US now limit or prohibit the use of gas-powered leaf blowers, moving away from noisy, hyper-polluting gas-powered leaf blowers, toward modern, clean battery-powered models. (Business Insider June 8 2023)

• Locally, groups like Quiet Clean Philly and others in Ardmore/Narberth are planning regulation proposals to limit or prohibit the use of GLBs (Gas Powered Leaf Blowers)

• California will ban the sale of new gas-powered leaf blowers and lawn mowers beginning next year, while existing ones may still be used. Washington, D.C., has already done this.

Why?

1. GLBs contribute to severe widespread noise pollution – they can produce up to 100 decibels, which is as noisy as a plane taking off. Their low-frequency noise travels large distances and goes through walls and windows. This causes serious disruptions for folks working at home, children, the elderly, those with health problems and pets: It’s noise you can’t escape, and it often continues for hours at a time, every day.

2. GLBs harm the workers: they use them for hours at a time and can suffer serious health problems: hearing loss, joint and muscle strains, respiratory disease and more.

3. GLBs produce toxic air pollution: They emit high levels of hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, and nitrogen oxides. No one wants to breathe that!

Here’s hope and help:

One group, Quiet Clean D.C., reports that battery-powered blowers are cheaper to run and maintain than GLBs over time. Also, as more manufacturers are introducing battery-powered blowers prices are coming down.