Time to Revisit the Leaf Blower Law?

Time to Revisit the Leaf Blower Law? By Chris Cohan   Rye has an across-the-board seasonal ban on leaf blowers — gas, electric cord or battery-powered […]

July 1, 2019
2 min read

Time to Revisit the Leaf Blower Law?

By Chris Cohan

 

Rye has an across-the-board seasonal ban on leaf blowers — gas, electric cord or battery-powered — from May 1 through September 30. The law was enacted with sincere intentions, but many citizens and landscapers fail to obey or simply disregard it. This creates tension and frustration between neighbors and towards landscapers. The police, who have to enforce the law, would welcome change as well. It’s time to revisit this law to improve compliance and deliver the results we want.

 

Southampton bans only gas-powered blowers after May 19, which applies to tennis and beach clubs, as well as to municipal employees, while the ban in Scarsdale and Yonkers is June 1 to September 30. Over 100 communities across the country have a similar gas-powered leaf blower ban, which brought about wider use of battery- powered models.

 

Mother Nature is very busy in May with pollination, her most important task, producing messy catkins, winged seed pods, and pollen. They cover patios, clog drains, and fill gutters. And May is filled with important occasions, from confirmations, Mother’s Day, and graduations, when people want their properties spotless.

 

Landscapers and many homeowners are frustrated with the May 1 ban. They feel we should be more in line with the realities of spring and move to a later date ban. A June 1 ban on gas-powered leaf blowers, which Scarsdale and Yonkers both have, would be helpful. I’ve spoken to landscapers in Scarsdale who state that the use of battery-powered blowers year-round allows them to complete their work efficiently and provide customer satisfaction while helping to keep their costs and rates down.

 

There are 80-volt battery-powered leaf blowers that deliver high performance like many gas-powered models. They operate at a conversation level of 60 decibels. Major benefits are no-maintenance, price, light weight, freedom from gas fumes, electric cords, quieter operation, and improved environmental quality. Homeowners could handle all their chores this way. Landscapers say the newer battery-powered blowers can handle a substantial amount of their work, too.

 

Gas-powered leaf blowers rely on primitive, noisy, and highly polluting technology. Two-stroke engines burning a slurry of gasoline and oil is so inefficient, especially in older models, that 30 percent of the fuel is sprayed straight out as polluting aerosols. The fuel is so crudely burned that one little leaf blower can be vastly more polluting than many modern cars.

 

Let’s embrace a way to transition away from gas-powered leaf blowers. This may be a classic opportunity of a carrot-and-stick approach to achieve exactly the results we desire. The City of Rye should revisit the leaf blower ban. Allowing year-round use of battery-powered machines would incentivize both industry and homeowners to upgrade to cleaner and quieter ones. Municipal entities, schools, and others exempt should be considered for inclusion in the law, or, at the very least, be encouraged to comply.

Filed Under:
Subscribe and get freshly baked articles. Join the community!
Begin typing your search above and press return to search. Press Esc to cancel.

kuwin

iplwin

my 11 circle

betway

jeetbuzz

satta king 786

betvisa

winbuzz

dafabet

rummy nabob 777

rummy deity

yono rummy

shbet

kubet

winbuzz

daman games

winbuzz

betvisa

betvisa

betvisa

baji999

marvelbet

krikya

Dbbet

Nagad88

Babu88

Six6s

Bhaggo

Elonbet

yono rummy

rummy glee

rummy perfect

rummy nabob

rummy modern

rummy wealth

jeetbuzz

iplwin

yono rummy

rummy deity

rummy app

betvisa

lotus365

hi88

8day

97win

n88

red88

king88

j88

i9bet

good88

nohu78

99ok

bet168

betvisa

satta king

satta matta matka

betvisa

mostplay

4rabet

leonbet

pin up

mostbet

rummy modern

Fastwin Login

Khela88

Fancywin

Jita Ace

Betjili

Betvisa

Babu88

jeetwin

nagad88

jaya9

joya 9

khela88

babu88

babu888

mostplay

marvelbet

baji999

abbabet

Jaya9

Mostbet

MCW

Jeetwin

Babu88

Nagad88

Betvisa

Marvelbet

Baji999

Jeetbuzz

Mostplay

Jwin7

Melbet

Betjili

Six6s

Krikya

Jitabet

Glory Casino

Betjee

Jita Ace

Crickex

Winbdt

PBC88

R777

Jitawin

Khela88

Bhaggo