The Green Needham Sustainable Landscaping Team, meeting on Zoom at 7 p.m. tonight (Dec. 4th) is looking for additional volunteers to help them address the problem of gasoline-powered leaf blowers.
It’s hard to walk anywhere in Needham without being exposed to the leaf blowers’ incessant whine and unpleasant exhaust. They are not only irritating but also have harmful environmental and health effects, spewing toxic chemicals and planet-warming CO2 from their inefficient gasoline motors. According to a 2023 report released by MASSPIRG, Lawn Care Goes Electric, gas-powered landscape equipment in Massachusetts emitted over 600,000 tons of carbon dioxide in 2020, equivalent to the yearly CO2 emissions of about 135,000 cars.
The Green Needham Team is working to bring forward to the May 2025 Town Meeting a phased-in a ban on gas-powered leaf blowers. This ban
would propel a shift to more environmentally responsible approaches to leaf removal, including using safer, quieter, and less polluting electric equipment. The Team’s efforts are bolstered by Needham’s recently released Climate Action Roadmap, which includes in its recommended actions: “Develop and enact an ordinance to phase out the use of gas-powered lawn equipment on public and private property.”
A number of communities have passed some kind of gas-powered leaf blower ban — Newton, Arlington, Lexington, Belmont, Concord and at least six others. With the increased demand for electric equipment, more options are coming onto the market, including the more powerful equipment needed by commercial landscapers.
The Sustainable Landscaping Team has been contacting local landscapers to get their perspectives and feedback — both those who have already transitioned to electric equipment and those who still use gas-powered leaf blowers. In addition to contacting local officials, the Team is working on contacting other towns with leaf blower restrictions to benefit from their experiences.
Interested in getting involved? Click this Zoom link to join tonight’s 7 p.m. call. To learn more about the Sustainable Landscaping Team, contact Team Leader David Rudolph or sign up on the Team’s webpage.
