Transitioning to Electric Leaf Blowers

It’s leaf-blower season again, and recently one of my neighbors emailed me what that means for her. Here’s an excerpt:

“This morning the landscapers showed up at the condo building next door as they do every week. The recent rains had washed the parking lot clean, but they fired up two gas-powered leaf blowers anyway. We know the drill and rushed to close the windows—the fumes come right into our home and linger if we aren't fast enough.
“The noise was as gut-wrenching and mind-numbing as always. We’ve tried earplugs and noise-canceling headphones, but it’s impossible to work from home when they come. It’s always striking to see all the power, noise, and fuel they use to whip up a few leaves and some dust so it can settle somewhere else. This time there wasn’t
plant debris to move around so they just blew the rainwater that was standing in puddles.”
It doesn’t have to be this way.
Quiet, Healthy Arlington is proposing to amend our current noise regulation related to gas powered leaf blowers. Adopted in 2013, the current bylaw doesn’t meaningfully regulate their use, and has been impractical to enforce. Gas leaf blowers have continued to pose high costs to public health, the environment, and quality of life, including stressful noise and toxic pollution imposed on entire neighborhoods at a time. Like second-hand smoke, we are exposed to these without our consent.
The proposed amendment would restore the rights of residents to a quiet, healthy environment; simplify the regulations, allow small businesses time to adapt to the changes; and further the town’s commitment to transition away from fossil fuels. This effort is part of a national trend that surrounding towns are also part of. Lexington recently banned gas leaf blowers beginning in 2025, and both Belmont and Winchester are considering similar measures.

The Noise
Gas leaf blowers have a unique low- frequency, wall-penetrating noise that makes them sound much louder than electric blowers. The noise is especially risky for workers, who can be exposed to 100 decibels while operating the devices. Just 15 minutes a day at that level is thought to pose a risk of permanent hearing loss. The workers are frequently immigrants or non-native speakers of English who aren’t well-equipped to deal with this risk. Hearing protectors are useful, but many protectors can’t get the noise below the required 85-decibel OSHA standard. The CDC has found that just two hours of exposure at that level risks permanent hearing loss.

Gas leaf blowers’ far-reaching noise often comes at neighborhoods from many different directions for lengthy periods, penetrating walls, disrupting lives, reducing productivity, and contributing to stress-related health issues associated with loud noise, including anxiety, hypertension, and heart disease. In many respects, this issue is like second-hand smoke—the costs are imposed on many people without their consent. Especially impacted are the elderly and young children, who are at home all day and cannot escape the noise.

The Pollution
Gas blower’s dirty, two-stroke engines burn oil mixed with gas, emitting toxic particulates and volatile organic compounds such as carcinogenic benzene. These are inhaled by equipment operators, residents, and passers-by, and they are especially bad for people with asthma and other chronic illnesses. Operating a single GPLB for just one hour emits as much smog-forming pollution as driving a Toyota Camry 1,100 miles, roughly the distance from Boston to Atlanta.

There’s a better Way
It has been claimed that restricting gas-blower use would seriously hurt lawn care
companies and their customers. It's true that our proposal would require most of
the companies to replace a specific piece of equipment by 2025. But they would have to do that anyway over time as their old devices wear out. On our website we cite research indicating that customers should be able to get high quality maintenance service without paying a lot more, and that the companies will adjust and thrive with electric blowers—just as restaurant and bar owners did when smoking was banned in public places, contrary to what was often claimed before the bans were enacted.

A number of landscapers already offer services with cleaner, quieter alternatives. One in our area has been using electric-powered equipment for nearly a decade while growing his business—his service area now includes a dozen towns. The Arlington Facilities Department is showing the way by replacing gas blowers when they wear out with electric alternatives.

Our proposed regulation will remove a major source of noxious noise and pollution, protect workers, and put Arlington in step with the hundreds of towns across the nation that are moving to ban or restrict use of an inefficient, outdated technology.

We envision a quieter, healthier Arlington. Thank you!
For more information see Quiet, Healthy Arlington.