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Sudbury’s various social media channels were recently aflutter with resident debates about a hypothetical ban on gas-powered leaf blowers. But the Town administration will not be pursuing such a ban, as confirmed by Sustainability Coordinator Dani Marini-King in the January 9 Board of Health meeting.
Bans on gas-powered equipment remain a conversation at the State level, and across several municipalities in the Commonwealth. Lexington, for example, recently passed a ban on gas-powered leaf blowers, which will start to go into effect in 2025. Concord also passed a bylaw that phases out gas-powered hand-held leaf blowers by the end of the decade.
The arguments in favor of a ban tend to vary based the unique facets of each municipality, but the loud noise of gas powered leaf blowers and the high levels of carbon dioxide emitted by the small engines frequently used by gas blowers are two of the most frequently cited reasons. MassPIRG issued a report in October 2023 that quantified some of the impacts of gas-powered lawn equipment in each state, and has advocated for a switch to electric as part of their advocacy work on public health and safety.
Marini-King noted that she doubted that there’s enough political support to pass a local ban in Sudbury, and indicated a desire to wait until the State does something, which would make it easier for Sudbury to take action at the local level. State-level bans are also becoming more common, with California’s ban on the sale of gas-powered lawn equipment going into effect this year, and conversations continuing in Massachusetts.
“And also provide some education on other sustainable landscaping practices. That would really be a great start to giving our residents alternative tools for lawn maintenance. And eventually down the line maybe gain some support for a town-wide gas-powered ban. Probably many years down the line, or after the State has done it, so it’s a lot easier for us to adopt, because I just don’t know that there’s the political support there for that kind of a ban right now.” (52:24)
Dani Marini-King — Sustainability Coordinator, Town of Sudbury
In response to follow-up questions, Marini-King also noted that there are a lot of residents who hire landscaping companies in Sudbury, so a ban could significantly increase the cost of their landscaping services. A ban would also increase the cost for Department of Public Works contractors, putting further pressure on Town budgets.
While the comments to the Board of Health indicate that the Town is unlikely to pursue anything near term, there is a desire to provide educational resources for residents who might choose to embrace more sustainable approaches to landscaping. Marini-King noted that a dedicated sustainability page on the Town website could provide a lot of resources on sustainable landscaping, electric alternatives, and many other sustainability topics. There was also a mention of possible events to demonstrate the latest electric landscaping technologies for residents.