Ditch gas-powered lawn equipment and go electric

Colorado’s Air Quality Control Commission is trying to deplete the ozone layer, not the one in the stratosphere that shields us from ultraviolet rays, the noxious haze that hovers at ground level every summer and makes us gag. The commission recently provided another incentive to swap out gas-powered lawn equipment for cleaner electric machines.

Ground-level ozone is formed when nitrogen oxide and volatile organic compounds cook in the summer sun. Nitrogen oxides are byproducts of fossil fuel combustion in automobiles, small two-stroke engines, power plants, and industrial furnaces. Volatile organic compounds come from chemical fumes released from gasoline pumps, chemical plants, and certain paints. Forest fire smoke contributes to unhealthy ozone levels as well.

The Front Range continues to miss air quality standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency. In 2022, the federal agency downgraded the northern Front Range (Fort Collins to Castle Rock) from a “serious” to a “severe” violator of ozone level requirements.

Exposure to high levels of ozone pollution can cause eye, nose, and throat irritation, coughing, chest pains, trouble breathing, and worsened asthma. Long-term exposure contributes to lung and cardiovascular disease.

Fortunately, there is something we can all do about it. Gas-powered landscaping equipment —lawnmowers, snow blowers, trimmers, edgers, leaf blowers, chain saws, rototillers, and grinders — emit a disproportionate amount of ozone-forming pollutants. Their twostroke engines, which mix oil and gas, produce more pollution than large four-stroke engines in cars. For example, blowing leaves for one hour with a gas-powered blower releases as much pollution as 15 cars do in an hour, and an hour of operating a large gas-powered mower equates to 300 miles on the road, according to COPIRG.

The public interest organization found that over a year, Colorado’s landscaping equipment (1,969 small engines) produced the same amount of nitrogen oxide as 880,554 cars. The equipment also emitted 671 tons of fine particulate, the equivalent of 7,204,002 cars, and 9,811 tons of volatile organic compounds. To encourage the replacement of these high-polluting gas-powered engines with electric alternatives, the Air Quality Control Commission (AQCC) recently finalized a rule to bar state agencies from using gas-powered equipment with less than 25 horsepower from June 1 to August 31. Local governments in the nine-county Front Range region affected by high ozone levels will face a similar ban on equipment with 10 horsepower or less. The ban goes into effect next year, giving governments and their contractors time to change to electric alternatives.

More than 100 U.S. cities and towns limit gas-powered lawn equipment. In addition to producing less pollution, electric-powered equipment is considerably quieter. Private landowners and renters are not included under the AQCC regulation but should consider swapping out gaspowered equipment nonetheless.

Earlier this year a new state law went into effect to provide a 30% discount on snow blowers, lawn mowers, trimmers, and leaf blowers at retailers participating in the program. Multiple local utilities, local governments, and the Regional Air Quality Council offer additional incentives for individuals and companies.

Having eliminated my turf in favor of low-water shrubs, succulents, and other plants, I got rid of my lawn mower, leaf blower, and rototiller altogether. There are multiple turf replacement rebates available to make the switch easier.

Summer is but a few months away; now is the time to think about replacing or even eliminating noisy, polluting lawn equipment. Let’s reduce the ground-level ozone that makes our summer air hard to breathe.