It’s a familiar summer experience in New Canaan. You’re outdoors with family or friends, or maybe working indoors with the windows open as your children play in the yard. It’s a beautiful day, and you’re enjoying the peace and fresh air. But then a gas leaf blower starts up next door, or a landscaping crew fires up a pack of them down your street. The maddening roar drowns out your conversation and makes it impossible to concentrate. Soon the fumes drift over, and the fresh breeze has turned to foul-smelling exhaust. Your summer relaxation is ruined.
The problems go much deeper than that. Gas leaf blowers are far dirtier than other gas-powered machines. Their inefficient two-stroke engines spew out 30% of their fuel unburned. These unburned hydrocarbons, along with other pollutants such as benzene, formaldehyde and 1,3-butadiene, make gas leaf blower exhaust a potent carcinogen. You and your family are breathing this poisonous mix every time you smell gas blower exhaust. The danger is especially severe for children, who are more likely to be outdoors during the summer and whose developing lungs and brains are more vulnerable to toxins. In addition, gas leaf blower noise is well above WHO ceilings, a level that has been scientifically linked to stress, heart disease, and diabetes and to concentration and learning problems among children (for example see https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/everyday-noises-can-hurt-hearts-not-just-ears-and-the-ability-to-learn/).
It doesn’t have to be this way. The evolution of electric leaf blowers has made them fully competitive with gas. In its latest review, updated last month, Consumer Reports concluded that “today’s battery leaf blowers can match or even beat the performance of gas models”. They have plenty of power for summer, when the work is only clearing grass clippings or blowing a few leaves.
Electric leaf blowers make sense for professional use as well. With no need for gas, oil or maintenance, their lower operating cost makes them more profitable to use, quickly recovering their purchase price. Since many local communities have restricted gas blowers, landscapers are already investing in this equipment, and there has been no evidence of landscaping cost increases or job losses in communities with gas blower restrictions. Several all-electric landscaping firms operate in Fairfield County now, and they report that their pricing and profitability are comparable to landscapers using gas. And landscaping workers are most exposed to the pollution and noise of gas leaf blowers, so transitioning to electric protects their health too.
Stamford, Westport, Greenwich and Norwalk, along with most communities in Westchester and many others around the country, have recognized the harm that gas leaf blowers cause and passed restrictions on their use. New Canaan is finally catching up. The Bylaws and Ordinances committee is discussing a draft leaf blower ordinance that would forbid gas blower use from Memorial Day to Labor Day, with exceptions including storm cleanup, town use and residential use on hard surfaces. It would also set time limits for the use of electric blowers. The ordinance may go before the full Town Council as early as February 25.
This ordinance is a compromise that would protect the health and wellbeing of New Canaan families during the summer, when gas leaf blowers are not even needed, while allowing them in other seasons — so autumn leaf removal and spring cleanups will not be affected. A number of local communities have banned gas leaf blowers for three seasons or year-round, so New Canaan’s restrictions are modest in comparison.
Please contact your Town Council representatives (TCDistribution@newcanaanct.gov) and let them know that it is time for sensible restrictions on gas leaf blowers. We have let these toxic, noisy machines menace our health and quality of life for too long. It’s time for New Canaan to catch up with our neighboring towns and win our summers back, for us and for our families.
John Seel
