Member Avril Garland sent a letter to Fairfax County Environmental Quality Advisory Council meeting of Jan. 8, 2025
Dear members of EQAC,
Allow me to make a few comments:Of this equipment, gas-powered leaf blowers have generated the most complaints and have been the focus of several legislative efforts.
The air pollution is staggering. The inefficient, typically two-stroke engine of a gas leaf blower fails to combust some 30% of the fuel, dumping carcinogens such as benzene and other VOCs into the air. Also emitted is a stream of particulate matter including black carbon or soot. Small particulate matter (2.5 microns)is particularly dangerous in that it can lodge deep inside the lungs, causing or exacerbating asthma and other respiratory problems as well as cardiac illnesses. The California Air Resources Board says that the smog-forming pollution from using a commercial gas blower for one hour equals driving a light-duty passenger car for 1,100 miles, the distance from here to Miami, a 15-hour trip. And why does this matter? EPA rates Northern Virginia as a “marginal non-attainment area” for ground ozone. Breathing in air contaminated with ozone has serious health risks.
The CA Air Resources Board says that “total smog-forming emissions from small-off-road engines (SOREs) already exceed emissions from light-duty passenger cars in California. SORE emissions are projected to increase as the population grows, while emissions from passenger cars decrease. By 2031, SORE emissions are projected to be nearly twice those from passenger cars.” See Small Engine Fact Sheet
For a 2011 study comparing the tailpipe emissions from gas leaf blowers and cars, see Edmonds Car Review.
Climate and Energy
It’s commendable that the county is encouraging a transition to EVs as part of CEPAC’s goals. However it ignores the burning of these very same climate changing fossil fuels when they are used for landscaping purposes. The US Department of Transport says that in 2020, landscape equipment used 3 bn gallons of gas.
If roughly 25 lbs of CO2 are emitted per gallon of gas burned, well do the math!
Gas-powered landscape equipment also emits nitrous oxide, a potent greenhouse gas.
Beyond the health and environmental concerns, there are environmentaljustice issues here. Landscape workers, often members of minority groups, with loud polluting engines strapped to their backs risk hearing loss, tinnitus, lung and cardiac diseases, and usually have little recourse to seek safer working conditions. Fully capable alternatives to gas leaf blowers are available!
Stihl Corporation, a leading supplier of leaf blowers, with its U.S. headquarters in Virginia Beach,
vigorously promotes advantages commercial landscapers will gain by switching to electric leaf blowers, including diminishing noise and protecting the environment. See Why Your Landscaping Crew Should Switch to Battery Equipment
Although upfront costs are high, over time switching to electric leaf blowers will save a business money in that they are almost maintenance-free and don’t need gas and oil. See studies of University of Arkansas, 2017 study and Santa Cruz Coalition for a Healthy and Safe Environment updated in 2023
For more info on switching to electric equipment, see American Green Zone Alliance.
However, much leaf-blower use is unnecessary. For small property, rakes and brooms are perfectly adequate. Mulching leaves into the grass with a lawn mower every week will take care of even the thickest leaf litter. Or better, leaving the leaves whole on the ground will provide habitat for firefly larva, salamanders, turtles, frogs, detritivores, and countless other creatures. 96% of lepidoptera overwinter in the leaves. (Doug Tallamy.) The county needs to educate people that supergroomed yards provide a very impoverished habitat for our birds and pollinators.
We are glad to see that FCPS are switching to electric landscape equipment and also on Fairfax County government property, and that government contractors who agree to use electric will be given preference.
However, in the case of the gas leaf blower, that is not sufficient. Outside of January and February, neighborhoods throughout the county are still being disrupted by these loud filthy tools, often on a daily basis.
Montgomery County has banned the use and sales of gas-powered leaf blowers effective July 1st. Gas leaf blowers are also banned in Washington DC, Baltimore, and Annapolis. Those who live and work in Fairfax County deserve the same improvements in public health and quality of life.
Sincerely,
Avril Garland