Landscaping Equipment
According to the EPA, emissions from landscape equipment (mowers, blowers, trimmers, etc.) can be greater than those from a car, per hour of operation. The most polluting of these is the two-stroke gas-powered leaf blower, which burns a combination of gasoline and oil, producing high levels of ozone-forming, asthma-inducing, and cancer-causing emissions, including fine particulate matter, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as benzene and formaldehyde, nitrogen oxide, and carbon monoxide. Gas leaf blowers are uniquely loud due to the low frequency of the sound waves they produce, which allows the sound to carry for long distances and through building walls.
Keep pollution from landscaping equipment to a minimum:
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Mandate your town's purchase of electric landscaping equipment whenever possible, including mowers, blowers and sweepers. Electric landscaping tools run cleaner, are easy to start, and often have features such as "grasscycling" for mowers that chop clippings into compostable bits.
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Keep all motorized equipment in top working condition, replacing oil and air filters regularly, getting periodic tune-ups and keeping blades sharp.
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Avoid gasoline and motor oil spills. Even small gas spills volatilize into the air and create pollution, while oil spills run off into surface waters, polluting these fragile eco-systems.
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Leaves are an important part of the ecosystem: they provide natural mulch and fertilizer, reduce weed growth, and provide habitat for vital insects that pollinate our plants and feed song birds. Leave the leaves where possible.
In 2025, Cambridge, MA, began phasing out gas-powered leaf blowers.
Washington, DC, banned the use and sale of gas-powered leaf blowers.
The state of California has prohibited the sale and is phasing out the use of gas-powered leaf blowers, lawn mowers, string trimmers, hedge trimmers, and small chainsaws.
Maplewood, NJ, was the first town in New Jersey to enact a year-round ban of gas-powered leaf blowers.
Princeton, NJ, South Orange, NJ, and Glen Ridge, NJ, have seasonal gas leaf blower restrictions.
Southampton, NY, became the first AGZA Green Zone® on the east coast in 2016 by using only electric-powered maintenance equipment in a town-owned park to reduce noise levels and eliminate carbon emissions and toxic pollutants.
South Pasadena, CA, became the first city in the nation with zero-emission landscape maintenance.
Sonoma, CA, referendum-approved leaf blower ordinance prohibits the use of gas-powered leaf blowers. Read the Leaf Blower Guidelines.
The Regional Air Quality Council in Denver runs a Mow Down Pollution program where homeowners trade in old gas mowers for electric mowers at a significant discount.
Resources
Quiet Communities (QC) is an independent nonprofit organization with a mission to transition landscape maintenance to low noise, zero emissions practices with positive solutions to protect the health of workers, the public and the environment.
The Love ‘Em and Leave ‘Em initiative provides training, marketing, and a policy campaign for on-site grass and leaf mulching to help municipalities save money, time and labor.
Healthy Yards has information about sustainable landscaping practices.
References
[1] Banks, J. L., PhD, MS, & McConnell, R. (2018). National Emissions from Lawn and Garden Equipment. https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-09/documents/banks.pdf
[2] Ecological landscape Alliance. (2015) Can Electric Equipment Revolutionize Landscape Maintenance? https://www.ecolandscaping.org/05/sustainability/can-electric-equipment-revolutionize-landscape-maintenance/
[3] Chaplin, B., et al. (2002). Long-Term Evolution of Biodegradation and Volatilization Rakes in a Crude Oil-Contaminated Aquifer. Bioremediation Journal, 6(3), 237-255.