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The Mission of Quiet Princeton is to improve the quality of life in our town and to restore and enhance its peaceful, healthy, and<\/b> <\/b>harmonious character, by removing and controlling sources of noise and pollution in the environment.\u00a0Quiet Princeton focuses\u00a0especially on one of the most invasive and environmentally destructive sources, the leaf blower.\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n Quiet Princeton was founded in 2016 in Princeton, New Jersey, by a group of local citizens with a common interest in reducing noise disturbance in our town.<\/p>\n We regret that these\u00a0<\/b>noisy and polluting machines\u00a0are<\/span>\u00a0still allowed for periods in spring and fall.\u00a0<\/span>These periods, ostensibly for “spring\/fall cleanup” (longer than we consider necessary) was a compromise during the development of the Princeton leaf blower ordinance.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n You can influence matters.<\/span> Further change requires citizens’ voices: If you are unhappy with the resumption of noise and chemical pollution from gas-powered leaf blowers in spring and fall, please write to all Princeton Council members to express your wish to extend the ban year-round. Copy the whole list below and paste in “To” in your e-mail:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Brian McDonald <bmcdonald@princetonnj.gov>, Mia Sacks <msacks@princetonnj.gov>, Michelle Lambros <mpironelambros@princetonnj.gov>, David Cohen <dcohen@princetonnj.gov>, Leticia Fraga <Lfraga@princetonnj.gov>, Leighton Newlin <lnewlin@princetonnj.gov>, Mayor Mark Freda <mfreda@princetonnj.gov><\/span><\/p>\n Also e-mail the Environmental Commission<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Quiet Princeton@verizon.net\u00a0to express that wish.<\/strong><\/p>\n This is a very effective<\/span> step you can take.<\/p>\n On October 25, 2021, after an hour of public comments all of which were in favor, Princeton Council voted unanimously to pass an <\/b>ordinance<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0to prohibit use of gas-powered leaf blowers in the summer and winter months (in<\/b> this version<\/a>, \u00a0deleted parts of the old ordinance are in square brackets and newly changed parts of the ordinance are underlined.) This is a significant achievement that we can all be proud of. Many people, including at the Princeton Environmental Commission (PEC), Sustainable Princeton (SP), those of us here at Quiet Princeton (QP), and Councilor Eve Niedergang, have worked hard to bring this about. The effort and its wider\u00a0<\/b>implications<\/span>\u00a0is <\/b>detailed here<\/a>, showing the extensive collaboration between SP, QP, the Council,\u00a0<\/b>landscapers,<\/span>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/b>other<\/span>\u00a0groups.<\/b><\/p>\n We at Quiet Princeton, and others including at the Environmental Commission, Sustainable Princeton, and some members of Council, regard this as a first step. It marks the beginning of a change in the approach to landscaping, which will involve less use of leaf blowers (gas or electric) and more sustainable landscaping practices.\u00a0<\/p>\n We have made a summary<\/a> of the major provisions of the Ordinance including the hours and months of permitted usage. In addition, the ordinance also contains a section on upgraded requirements for registration of landscapers. The full ordinance is here<\/a>. Further details, and the wider impact of ongoing developments at Sustainable Princeton and QP, are here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Quiet Princeton was proud that we provided\u00a0Matching Funds of $2,500<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0for donations to Sustainable Princeton’s Landscaping Transition Fund. This fund is to aid small Princeton landscapers to purchase new electric equipment. QP supporters have contributed even more than the matched amount. QP and its supporters thus contributed over $5,500 of the $21,000 Funds distributed. Our thanks to those generous contributors, nearly half of whom contributed as supporters of Quiet Princeton.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span>Sustainable Princeton reports that these funds went to 24 companies with a total of 156 employees, who serve 708 properties in Princeton<\/a>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n Sustainable Princeton closed this fund at the end of 2021. Distribution of funds ended in late 2022. Landscapers meeting the requirements\u00a0applied here<\/a>\u00a0for up to $500 to support their purchase of replacement electric-powered equipment.\u00a0<\/p>\n Princeton, New Jersey, is justly renowned for its beauty. An important aspect of its beauty is peacefulness. However, urban noise is an increasing societal problem. In our neighborhoods, the peace is all too often destroyed by the use of powerful leaf blowers. Their noise disturbs scores of people who live a block or several blocks away.<\/p>\n \u2014 Homeowners who maintain their own lawns or who are away while their lawn is being serviced, using a leaf blower, may not realize how disturbing the noise and pollution are to other residents. The situation in Princeton has changed, and improved, significantly since early 2020. The principal events are as follows: (a more detailed Timeline of Developments is here<\/strong><\/a>).<\/p>\n \u2014 More people are staying home during the Covid-19 pandemic\u2013adults working, children doing online schooling, and families spending more time outdoors. They become more aware of the disturbance, noise and pollution of gasoline-powered leaf blowers (GLB\u2019s).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u2014 There is increased concern about the particulate pollution created by GLB’s,\u00a0which damages the lungs and has increases the likelihood of death for those who contract Covid-19. In 2020 Quiet Communities<\/a><\/strong> issued a \u00a0major\u00a0report<\/a><\/strong> detailing these serious health harms. Quiet Princeton presented the findings of this report to town officials.<\/p>\n — There is increasing concern for social justice for landscape workers, who are exposed, day in and day out, to dangerous pollution and deafening noise.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u2014 Years of advocacy by Quiet Princeton to encourage voluntary actions to stop using GLB\u2019s has been of lower impact than was hoped for. \u00a0We concluded that\u00a0legislative action\u00a0was necessary.<\/span><\/p>\n — High quality\u00a0lithium-battery powered electric lawn equipment has become more widely available.<\/p>\n \u2014 Local social media<\/a> have begun to take up the problems of GLB\u2019s. This has brought in an increasingly large number of residents who are asking for more definitive action, many seeking a total ban on GLB’s.<\/p>\n \u2014 In 2019 the excellent nonprofit group Sustainable Princeton<\/a><\/strong> developed a Climate Action Plan<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0to reduce the impact of the town\u2019s activities on Climate Change. With the encouragement of Quiet Princeton, Princeton\u2019s Climate Action Plan includes goals for the reduction of harmful emissions from gas-powered lawn maintenance equipment (goals 6.2, 6.4 and 6.5, page 38).\u00a0Sustainable Princeton established GLB\u2019s as one of its significant programs for 2021. It is actively working on multiple aspects of moving to more sustainable landscape practices.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u2013 \u00a0Following presentations by Quiet Princeton,\u00a0both the Environmental Commission (PEC) and Princeton Council made “Sustainable Landscaping” a priority for 2021. Sustainable landscaping includes: developing an ordinance to regulate GLB’s; creating steps for a transition from gasoline-powered to battery-electric equipment; and working with landscapers, the municipality, residents, and institutions in the town to make significant changes in their landscaping maintenance practices.<\/p>\n \u2014\u00a0Sustainable Princeton obtained a\u00a0grant<\/a><\/strong> to work in 2021 with local landscapers \u2013 to get their input, assist them in making conversions to electric-powered equipment, and help them adopt more sustainable lawn maintenance practices. Phyllis Teitelbaum of Quiet Princeton is on Sustainable Princeton’s Steering Committee for this project. Eunice Wong of Quiet Princeton is on the Residential Outreach Committee for the project.<\/p>\n \u2014 The Princeton Environmental Commission voted unanimously in May 2021 to propose to Princeton Council, with the support of Quiet Princeton, an ordinance for a ban on the use of GLB’s in summer and winter, plus related changes. Councilor Eve Niedergang of Princeton Council developed the ordinance.<\/p>\n \u2014 Princeton Council voted unanimously to approve the ordinance<\/span> on October 25, 2021.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u2014 Meanwhile, the State of California passed a law which will ban the sale of all<\/span> gas-powered lawn equipment<\/a> (mowers etc. as well as leaf blowers) from 2024.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n \u2014 Now, in New Jersey, bills have\u00a0been\u00a0introduced in\u00a0the\u00a0legislature which aim to support\u00a0our efforts state-wide.<\/strong> These initial bills will have to be expanded and re-introduced into the 2022 legislative sessions. But they are a harbinger of widening efforts to make changes in landscaping practices.<\/p>\n Covid-19 attacks the lung tissue of those it infects. The polluting 2-stroke engines of gas-powered leaf blowers generate\u00a0fine particulates that enter the lungs and that are well documented to cause disease and death. Recent studies have shown that these particulates have a further severe impact on Covid\u00a0patients: they worsen the morbidity and mortality of Covid patients, as detailed here<\/a><\/strong> and here<\/a><\/strong>, and in Quiet Communities’ report<\/a><\/strong>. For this reason, Quiet Princeton advocates a cessation of use of gas-powered leaf blowers. While all people are affected, landscape workers are particularly exposed.<\/p>\n \u2022 In 2020 Quiet Princeton began to advocate for more effective and lasting change by means of an <\/b>ordinance<\/span> for the town of Princeton to first restrict and then phase out gas-powered leaf blowers. This led to the first step, a seasonal ban of GLB’s, which became law in October 2021.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n \u2022 Further changes, including movement towards a year-round ban, need to be implemented in parallel with educational programs<\/span>,\u00a0working with both landscapers and residents to make a transition to electric equipment and, even better, to change landscaping practices: to leave leaves in place and to avoid blowing dust and harmful particles into the air at all.\u00a0Sustainable Princeton has\u00a0developed a groundbreaking program and is leading this effort with its\u00a0<\/b>grant<\/a><\/strong>.<\/b><\/p>\n \u2022 “Sustainable Landscaping” is a concept that goes much beyond leaf blowers to changing the whole paradigm of landscaping. A project “Changing the Landscape”<\/a> by Sustainable Princeton is developing this, working with several local organizations including Quiet Princeton. It is discussed here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n \u2022 These actions,\u00a0taken in combination,<\/span> will reduce severely harmful particulate and other emissions, reduce exposure of landscape workers to noise and pollution, preserve and improve their jobs and their health, reduce severe noise disturbance and harm to residents, reduce costs to the municipality to collect leaves, and contribute to the goals of Princeton\u2019s Climate Action Plan.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n We will continue to promote voluntary change by residents, encouraging them to convert to our recommended \u201cQuiet Landscaping\u201d practices.\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n
\nNEWS UPDATES:<\/h2>\n
\nGAS LEAF BLOWERS ARE NOT ALLOWED TO BE USED in Princeton for the summer: May 16 through September 30 <\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n
They are also NOT ALLOWED for the winter: December<\/span> 16 through March 15.<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n
VIOLATIONS<\/strong><\/span>: You can report illegal use of GLB’s during prohibited periods, so they can be followed up by the Princeton Compliance Officer. Both landscaper company and homeowner are jointly liable. Report to See\/Click\/Fix<\/a> (this website won’t work on Safari–you have to use Chrome or Firefox) move the map to point to the location of the violation, and add a photo if possible. Alternatively, send an e-mail giving location of violation, name and phone # of the landscaper company and the address of the homeowner, to AccessPrinceton@princetonnj.gov.<\/h4>\n
\nOctober<\/span>\u00a02021: SEASONAL BAN ON GAS LEAF BLOWERS PASSED IN PRINCETON<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n
Gas Leaf Blowers are prohibited in Princeton in winter and summer months. Permitted between March 15 and May 15, then prohibited May 16 to Sept 30.<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
\nDecember 2022: \u00a0$21,000 TO AID THE TRANSITION TO ELECTRIC LEAF BLOWERS was distributed to landscapers. <\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n
The benefit from this program is equivalent to 144 vehicles removed from the road<\/span><\/a> (Sustainable Princeton estimate)<\/span><\/h3>\n
\nThis Quiet Princeton<\/span> site has been updated<\/span><\/strong><\/span>\u00a0to incorporate the new ordinance banning gas leaf blowers in summer and winter, with other new information, and additions on the “Resources” page. But it is updated relatively infrequently, so:<\/h4>\n
\u2022 \u00a0Sign up<\/span><\/a>\u00a0as a QP Supporter<\/strong> to learn the latest activities via our occasional e-mails: quietprinceton@verizon.net<\/span><\/a> (we won’t overload your in-box!)\u00a0<\/h3>\n
\u2022 \u00a0Do you use social media<\/span>? <\/strong>Check out our NextDoor blog<\/strong> at :\u00a0https:\/\/nextdoor.com\/g\/h3uk01tzk\/<\/a>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0<\/strong>It has correspondence with QP supporters, and is a good complement to the information on this website\u00a0<\/h3>\n
\nNews<\/strong>:<\/span><\/span>\u00a0See Seasonal Ban<\/span>\u00a0above, and scroll down to see 2020\/2021: Major Developments<\/span>\u00a0and \u00a02025ff: Quiet Princeton’s Future Focus<\/span><\/em><\/h4>\n
\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/quietprinceton.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/greenleafystreet-1024x591.jpg\")
\u00a0\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\nA Beautiful Street is also a Quiet Street\u00a0<\/em><\/h2>\n
\u2014 As the photo below shows, landscape contractors frequently use more than one leaf blower simultaneously, greatly increasing the noise level.
\u2014When a landscaping contractor moves from one house to another down the street, the noise can persist for hours.\u00a0An increasing tendency to remove every last leaf in flowerbeds, lawn, and even on the sidewalk and street, prolongs the agony.
\u2014 All the while, a leaf blower puts out tens or hundreds of times the pollution of a car. Incredibly, recent measurements by the state of California have found that total lawn equipment emissions equal the total emissions caused by cars! This is a serious matter.
\u2014The EPA finds that 17 million gallons of gasoline are spilled each year when refueling lawn equipment. That is more than the amount spilled by the Exxon Valdez in Alaska.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/quietprinceton.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/LeafBlowersHawthorne2-1024x673.jpg\")
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\n2020\/2021: <\/i><\/strong><\/span>MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS LED TO AN ORDINANCE<\/i><\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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\nCOVID-19 IMPACTS<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n
\n2025ff: QUIET PRINCETON’S FUTURE FOCUS<\/i><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n
\nMeanwhile, you can take action on your own<\/span><\/h2>\n
\u2022 \u00a0\u201cQuiet Landscaping<\/a>\u201d <\/strong>on this website\u00a0offers ways to make your garden and your neighborhood quieter.<\/h3>\n
\u2022 This video<\/strong> presents ideas for how to shift your thinking about leaf blowers and landscaping. It is cued up to start with Tony Lunn’s\u00a0presentation on this subject (at 1:11:00).<\/h3>\n\n\n