Why everyone’s talking about... Leaf blowers

COUNCIL staff were ridiculed last week for using a leaf-blower – in the middle of a wood in Dorset. Never mind the pointlessness, why use these deafening, pollution-belching machines at all?

You might think a rake is as effective, but professional gardeners reckon that the machines, which can generate wind speeds of up to 270mph, take a quarter of the time to clear leaves than it does manually. And they can tackle gravel paths much more easily.

But they’re not very green?

Certainly not. Inefficient petrol-driven models spew up to a third of the fuel into the air, unburned. The most polluting ones create as much toxic emissions in 30 minutes as driving a pick-up truck 3,900 miles.

Though leaf-blowers are banned in several US cities, Americans use nearly three billion gallons of petrol on lawn and garden equipment a year – about the same as all the UK’s cars. Electric models are much greener.

And the noise?

Up close, they generate up to 115 decibels – similar to a loud rock concert. Health experts advise against being exposed to this noise level for more than 15 minutes a day.

Are they legal?

Yes – although it’s unlawful to blow leaves off your property on to the highway, and they must be used only between 8am and 6pm on weekdays. One nuisance neighbour in Cheshire was given a restraining order after using his during the last World Cup Final.

Actor Tom Conti has gone to war with leaf-blowers, saying: ‘It’s like having a motorcycle in the room. If people can’t stand the sight of a leaf, it’s not a leaf-blower they need but a psychiatrist.’

Who came up with the idea?

It’s thought they first were constructed by US farmers by dismantling hand-held crop-dusters. As for ‘handy’ other uses, boffins on the TV science show Brainiac made a hovercraft from a leaf-blower that was capable of supporting the weight of a man.