Testimony In Favor of S217 (Prohibits Sale and Use of Gas-Powered Leaf Blowers)

Testimony In Favor of S217

Prohibits Sale and Use of Gas-Powered Leaf Blowers

Senate Environment Committee

Doug O’Malley, Director, Environment New Jersey

June 20, 2024

We strongly support this legislation and its goal of a phase-out and ban of gas-powered leaf blowers across New Jersey to increase public health, reduce air and climate pollutants and improve the quality of life across New Jersey communities.

Gas-powered lawn and garden machines may be small, but they produce a huge amount of pollution. Smaller equipment is particularly dirty because it often utilizes two-stroke engine technology. In that process, oil and fuel mix and then are burned, resulting in pollutants including particulate matter, nitrogen oxides (which lead to ozone) and potentially carcinogenic hydrocarbons. Even larger mowers and tractors, with four-stroke engines, produce unnecessary pollution because they lack advanced emissions controls such as the catalytic converters standard on cars and trucks.  And running a gas leaf blower for an hour creates the same number of emissions as a 1,100-mile drive or driving from Los Angeles to Denver.

Gas-powered leaf blowers typically exceed 80-85 decibels, which is beyond the safe level for humans, and can directly damage hearing. With lawn service companies deploying their noisy leaf blowers before 8 AM on weekends, and throughout the day during the week, the noise is a constant drone in New Jersy communities.

Health Impacts of Gas-Powered Lawn Equipment:

It’s also about the terrible air pollution from the two-stroke engines on gas-powered leaf blowers, which create both an environmental and public health disaster. Edmunds, the car reviewer, compared the two-stroke engine on a backpack gasoline leaf blower to a Ford F-150 Raptor pickup truck. Their findings show that just a half hour of yardwork produced the same level of emissions as driving the truck 3,887 miles, which is like driving from New Jersey to Alaska! The 2-stroke gas powered leaf blower generated double the NOx (oxides of nitrogen), 23 times the CO (carbon monoxide), and nearly 300 times more NMHC (non-methane hydrocarbons) than the F-150 pickup.

This is a human health issue, as multiple peer-reviewed studies link increased air pollution – and NOx exposure – directly to increased Alzheimer’s disease, asthma rates, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and even COVID-19. While such air pollution is invisible, 2023’s orange sky days starkly visualized the harm.

Gasoline-powered lawn and garden equipment – lawn mowers, string trimmers, leaf blowers, snow blowers and other machines – is noisy and polluting, with some machines emitting as much pollution in an hour as driving hundreds of miles in a car. And that pollution is released right in the middle of our neighborhoods, where people live and breathe, putting our health at risk.

Electric lawn equipment is cleaner, quieter – and, over a lifetime of use, often cheaper – than gasoline-powered machines. Moreover, electric options are often just as capable as fossil fuel versions.

Pollution from those millions of lawn and garden machines adds up. According to data for 2020 from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, fossil fuel-powered lawn equipment emitted …

• Nearly 22,000 tons of fine particulates – pollutants that have been linked to respiratory ailments, reproductive and mental health issues, and even premature death. That’s as much pollution as would be produced annually by 234 million typical cars.
• More than 68,000 tons of nitrogen oxides and 350,000 tons of volatile organic compounds – the two chemical components of ground-level ozone, which triggers asthma attacks and contributes to premature death. Nitrogen oxide emissions from lawn equipment are equal to annual emissions from 30 million typical cars.
• More than 30 million tons of carbon dioxide, the leading cause of global warming. That’s more climate-altering pollution than was produced in the city of Los Angeles in 2021.
• A wide array of chemicals that cause cancer, including benzene and formaldehyde. This pollution takes place in our neighborhoods where children, seniors and other vulnerable people live.

New Jersey Impacts from Gas-Powered Lawn Equipment:

Nitrogen Oxide:

Lawn & Garden Equipment Emissions (Tons): 2,215

This is equivalent to the nitrogen oxide emissions from this many cars over the course of a year: 950,050

Carbon Dioxide:

Lawn & Garden Equipment Emissions (Tons): 834,100

This is the equivalent to the carbon dioxide emissions from this many cars over the course of a year: 183,619

Fine Particulates (PM 2.5):

Lawn & garden equipment emissions (tons): 689 tons

This is equivalent to the fine particulate (PM 2.5) emissions from this many cars over a course of a year: 7,398,599

Methodology: According to the California Air Resources Board, operating a commercial gas-powered lawn mower for an hour results in as much ozone-forming emissions as driving a standard automobile about 300 miles. Even worse, operating a commercial gas-powered leaf blower for just one hour produces as much pollution as driving 1,100 miles.

Why is electric lawn equipment a better choice? 

Electric lawn equipment is increasingly easy to find at major hardware stores and suppliers, with dozens of options currently on the market.

• Electric lawn equipment sometimes has a higher initial price tag but saves money over time due to lower fuel and maintenance costs – usually paying back the initial investment in just one to three years.
• Electric lawn equipment is often comparable in quality and performance to gasoline-powered equipment.
• Electric lawn equipment is far quieter than gasoline-powered versions and produces reduced vibrations – making it healthier and safer to use.
• Electric equipment is also making inroads in the commercial sector, with an increasing array of available options.

This pollution is also unnecessary. There are widely available electric leaf blowers and lawn mowers that landscaping companies and residents can utilize that are more affordable than gas powered equipment. This electric equipment is also more effective, cleaner, and quieter. They are made by multiple manufacturers, including well-known companies such as Ryobi, Toro, Stihl, Dewalt, Milwaukee, and others. The total cost of ownership of the electric equipment, which could include multiple battery packs, or 200-foot outdoor extension cords, is less than the cost of gas and oil needed for the operations and maintenance of gas powered equipment.

Significantly, last year, Home Depot committed to moving 85% of its sales in outdoor power equipment, including push lawn mowers and handheld outdoor equipment like leaf blowers and trimmers, will run on rechargeable battery technology instead of gas. Home Depot estimates that this transition will reduce more than 2 million metric tons of greenhouse gases annually from exhaust pipes of residential lawn equipment.

Leadership from Other Cities & States

Leading cities and states around the country are taking action to encourage the transition from gasoline-powered lawn equipment to clean electric options.

• Cities: Multiple cities across the United States have already implemented bans or limits on the use of these tools, including C., Miami Beachand Evanston, Ill, and an additional 100+ cities across the country including ones in Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Texas and Vermont.
• States: Starting this July, California will enact a statewide banon the sale of new gas-powered lawn tools, initiated from a December 2021 regulation.

• Lead by example by adopting electric lawn equipment for their own facilities. Working with the American Green Zone Alliance (AGZA), the city of South Pasadena, Calif., fully transitioned its maintenance operations to electric equipment.
• Create financial incentives to encourage the purchase of electric lawn equipment. In 2023, for example, Colorado adopted legislation that will provide a 30% discount on electric lawn mowers, leaf blowers, trimmers and snow blowers. In addition to rebates and tax credits, governments should consider loan programs to help commercial landscapers afford the upfront cost of electric equipment.
• To meet the particular needs of commercial landscapers, provide opportunities for education, training and technical support.