Calling noise a nuisance is like calling smog an inconvenience.
Noise must be considered a hazard to the health of people everywhere.
– U.S. Surgeon General William H. Stewart (1978)
Media Articles
- Princeton Echo: The Origins of Quiet Princeton
- Town Topics, Princeton: Quieting Noisy Leaf Blowers is the Goal of Local Activists
- New York Times “On Banning Leaf Blowers”
- Washington Post: Effect on the Environment
- Eliminating Leaf Blowers: The myths of common objections
- Rakes beat Leaf Blowers in actual use
- Origins of Quiet Lincoln: Genesis of an activist group
- WSJ – Hazard for Working at Home Leaf Blowers 2020 The Wall St Journal has run a number of articles on GLB problems. This article, on GLB noise when working from home, contains the important statement : “If you made a list of people wanting to get rid of gas-powered backpack blowers using simple two-stroke engines, landscapers would be first in line. No one’s closer to the noise than the landscape contractor who has the thing strapped on their back.”: Bob Mann, director of state and local government relations for the National Association of Landscape Professionals, a trade group with nearly 100,000 members.
- Manufacturers can be a powerful lobby against improvements This 2006 article is now dated. “It is a replay of Detroit’s initial resistance to those who wanted clean up car exhaust. The largest lawn and garden equipment maker in the country and a powerful Republican senator” were opposed. Attitudes are changing now, there is more environmental awareness, and we have battery-powered alternatives.
- Noisy but that’s not all Details the issues, including problems for the landscape workers, plus data on emissions from specific GLB’s and mowers
- Blowback – The New Yorker 10-25-10 A discursive New Yorker article about GLB problems in Orinda, CA
History of Leaf Blowers
1970’s Leaf blowers introduced in USA
1970’s Leaf blowers banned in a number of CA cities
1980’s Leaf blowers power and noise increases; Backpack leaf blowers introduced
1997 Princeton, NJ, rejects ordinance to control leaf blowers: see section below
1998 Los Angeles bans gas-powered leaf blowers within 500 ft of residences
2000’s Leaf blower use increases continually
2017 More Municipalities and Universities ban gasoline lawn equipment
- History of Leaf Blowers: graphic by Paul Ahern
- History of Leaf Blowers: table by nonoise.org
- Wikipedia “Leaf Blowers”
Princeton, NJ Municipality
- Mayor of Princeton advises not to use gas-powered leaf blowers in Covid crisis
- Existing Princeton Town Municipal Noise Ordinance 2014. Section 21-2 (p) mentions leaf blowers. It says they should be “adequately muffled”–this is not enforceable, however.
- Leaf Blower Noise FAQ’s: Princeton Town Public Works Dept.
- Princeton votes against Leaf Blower Ordinance in 1997. (Note that many of the objections made at that time are no longer valid.)
Elimination of Gasoline Leaf Blowers (GLB’s) and other actions by Municipalities and Universities
- Ordinances to control or prohibit GLB’s: Maplewood, NJ, Sonoma, CA, Washington DC, Larchmont, NY
- Maplewood, NJ, bans leaf blowers in summer
- California is moving to eliminate gas-powered blowers and mowers
- Harvard University stops using gas powered equipment
- Blower bans in Rye, Aspen, Carmel, Beverly Hills, and Los Angeles
- California State LA goes to lithium battery equipment
- Sonoma CALM has silenced leaf blowers in Sonoma, CA The results are well received
- Westchester County, NY: “Love Em and Leave Them” mulching program for cities
- Southampton, NY stops using gas-powered equipment
- Leafblower Restriction Laws A state-by-state listing
Activist Organizations Addressing Leaf Blower Noise
- Quiet Communities. A nationwide organization connecting many groups on the community noise issue Jamie L Banks, PhD, MS, Executive Director Brochure
- QuietCleanDC.com
- Sonoma CALM, CA
- Green Zone Cities
- The Quiet Coalition addresses wide aspects of noise from a professional standpoint
- Portland, OR A fine website
Covid-19: Impacts of Lawn Equipment Pollution
- COVID-19 and Gas-Powered Leaf Blowers: A Lethal Combination Detailed Report by Quiet Communities June 2020
- Impacts on Covid-19 disease: Harvard study , Netherlands study and its source publication
Pollution caused by Leaf Blowers and other Lawn Equipment
- The State of California has concluded that pollution from garden equipment will exceed that from cars (even in California!) and is considering pollution regulations and Graph of this increase in pollution
- California Air Resources Board (CARB) data on lawn equipment pollution
- Health & Environmental Impacts of Leaf Blowers CARB: An early technical report 2000
- California seeks to eliminate Gas Leaf Blowers and Mowers by 2022 60 cities in CA have already banned the blowers
- Leaf Blowers emit 30 to 100 times the pollutants as cars and trucks (Chart from Edmunds Inside Line) Full Article
- Lawn Equipment pollution is already 81% that of cars, and increasing (EPA). The problems
- Gas-powered Mowers are also polluting
Battery-Electric Lawn Equipment
- California Air Resources Board Directory of Electric Equipment
- Electric Leaf Blowers, Mowers, and Trimmers: Consumer Reports The lower costs and increasing power of batteries has led to a great increase in availability of battery-powered leaf blowers, trimmers, and mowers, both for consumer and commercial use. Here are some good recommendations.
Noise Levels, Disturbance, Health Effects
- Evidence on the effects by Dr. Jamie Banks Banks evidence to DC 2018 with excellent information and graphics
- Noise of Gas vs Electric Leaf Blowers This graphic by Dr. Jamie Banks shows that the low-frequency noise of Gas blowers penetrates much further from house to house than an electric one of the same measure decibel level.
- The Devil’s Hair Dryer: Hell is Other People, with Leaf Blowers
- A California Air Resources Board technical study
- Two-Stroke Engines in Landscape Maintenance: A Growing Public Health Problem
- What is a safe noise level?
- CDC “Too Loud Too Long” dangerous noise levels
- Impacts of leaf blower noise (Greenwich, CT) and Leaf Blower Facts (Sacramento, CA)
Actions by Homeowners and Landscapers
- Benefits to landscapers and Sample Letter to Customers
- Advice for Landscapers from a Westchester, NY town
- Equipment to use for mulching-in-place
- Another community approaches neighbors directly
Princeton, NJ Organizations with Related Interests
- Princeton Environmental Commission
- Princeton Board of Health
- Sustainable Princeton
- Princeton University Office of Sustainability
