Fall is here, which means leaves are falling. But when it comes to cleaning up the leaves and clearing them away, more cities and states are banning gas-powered leaf blowers as the tool of choice.
More than 200 cities, counties and local jurisdictions – and several states – have either banned the use of gas-powered leaf blowers, passed restrictions on their use or provided incentives to consumers, landscapers and other companies to purchase electric equipment as a more eco-friendly alternative.
The issue continues to gain momentum. Just west of Washington, D.C., Arlington County, Virginia, is considering a year-round ban on gas-powered leaf blowers. In the New York State Legislature, a bill creating a rebate program for the purchase of electric lawn equipment passed the Senate with bipartisan support (11 Democrats, 22 Republicans voted yes), but time ran out in the session before it could pass in the Assembly. Proponents are working to convince New York Gov. Kathy Hochul to include the measure in her 2026 budget.
The pollution discharged by gas-powered leaf blowers can contribute to or cause health issues, including asthma and heart attacks, proponents said in a letter sent to Hochul on Sept. 10. “It’s estimated that in 2020 alone, gas-powered lawn equipment in New York produced almost 1.4 million tons of climate pollution, the equivalent to the emissions from more than 300,000 cars annually,” the letter reads, citing findings from the Environment America Research Policy Center.
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Public officials and communities may initially oppose gas-powered leaf blowers due to the noise they make. “It’s fall, leaves are falling from the trees and there’s this incessant whirring of the (leaf blower) … you’re trying to keep your windows open and you can smell the gas (and) the smoke,” said David Masur, executive director of PennEnvironment, a nonprofit environmental advocacy group, assisting proponents seeking rebates for electric lawn equipment purchases in New York and Pennsylvania.
Then, they learn about the environmental impact. “People go, ‘Holy cow, I didn’t realize that little thing can do that much damage,” Masur said.
The issue isn’t a new one. Seven years ago, Washington, D.C., passed the Leaf Blower Regulation Amendment Act of 2018, which subjects companies or individuals who use gasoline-powered leaf blowers to fines of up to $500 for each offense. In 2021, California passed a state law banning the sale of new gas-powered leaf blowers and weed whackers, beginning Jan. 1, 2024.
According to the Public Interest Research Group, an advocacy organization, the following states or cities have either banned or restricted gas-powered leaf blowers and lawn equipment, or passed incentives to replace gas equipment with electric ones:
Home improvement retail giants Home Depot and Lowe’s have also decreased their inventory of gas-powered lawn equipment in favor of other options, the PIRG says.
While bans on the sale and use of gas-powered leaf blowers and lawn equipment have been applauded by some, the policies also sparked backlash, with Texas passing a law prohibiting the outright ban on these devices to protect the oil and gas industries. Lawmakers in Florida have attempted to pass similar legislation.
Elsewhere, the desire to transition away from gas-powered lawn equipment is growing, with cities like Dallas, Austin, and Louisville, Kentucky, offering rebates for purchasing electric lawn equipment at select locations. Some states also do this, including Colorado, Indiana, Massachusetts, Nebraska and Wyoming.
Rebate initiatives can help reduce pollution, but can also “help local businesses like lawn care companies, landscaping, arborists who want to transition because it’s the right thing to do and, of course, their workers are on the front line for all this,” Masur said.
Several companies, including Ace Hardware and power tool makers Milwaukee Tool and STIHL, have supported the New York measure as a way to help offset the costs of lawn care companies replacing older equipment.
The Montgomery County (Maryland) Council passed a gas-powered leaf blower ban in 2023, prohibiting the sale of the lawn tool the following year and then banning its use as of July 1. At the time, “people were working from home in even greater numbers and the noise pollution … was problematic,” councilmember-at-large Evan Glass, who chairs the council’s transportation and environment committee, told USA TODAY.
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