CA Is Coming For Gas Lawn Mowers, Leaf Blowers: 5 Things To Know

SACRAMENTO, CA — Californians need to start weaning themselves off gas-powered lawn equipment, including lawn mowers and leaf blowers, under a new law aimed at curbing air pollution.

The law, signed Saturday by Gov. Gavin Newsom, bans landscaping equipment, including but not limited to lawn mowers, leaf blowers, string trimmers and chainsaws, perhaps as soon as 2024. It applies to home gardeners and professional landscapers.

By 2028, portable generators sold in the state must be zero-emission.

Here are five things to know about the new California law:

1. California is a pioneer.

California, which the American Lung Association in 2019 said has the worst air quality in the country, is the first state to implement such far-reaching bans on small off-road, gas-powered engines.

“Gov. Newsom signing (this law) really sets a strong course to not only his commitment to transitioning to zero emissions but also to cleaner air and healthier lungs,” Will Barrett, director of clean air advocacy for the American Lung Association in California, said after the bill became law.

2. Small off-road engines, or SORES, are big polluters.

California regulators say the small gas-powered off-road engines produce more total nitrous oxide and reactive organic gases than all the passenger cars on the state’s highways. That’s because they don’t fully combust the gasoline used to run them and emit high levels of particulate exhaust.

How dirty are they? The California Air Resources Board, operating the best-selling commercial lawnmower for one hour expels as much smog-forming pollution as driving a 2017 Toyota Camry from Los Angeles to Las Vegas, a distance of about 300 miles. The same car traveling 1,100 miles — say, from Los Angeles to Denver — would emit the same amount of smog-forming pollution as the best-selling commercial leaf blower used for an hour.

3. There are more gas-powered off-road small engines than cars in California.

There are more than 16.7 million of these small engines in California, about 3 million more than the number of cars on the state’s roads. California was the first government in the world to adopt emissions standards for small engines in 1990.

But since then, The Associated Press reported, emissions from cars have vastly improved compared with smaller engines.

4. Rebates and incentives help cushion the blow.

The legislation points Californians to zero-emissions replacements for the gas-powered small engines with rebates and incentives, including:

• A rebate of up to $250 with the purchase of a cordless, battery-electric lawn mower. The rebate requires that the gas-powered mower be scrapped.
• The state has set aside $30 million to help professional landscapers and gardeners make the switch to electric equipment.

5. The bill’s sponsor calls the law “modest.”

Democratic Assemblyman Marc Berman told the Los Angeles Times the law is a “modest” approach that can make a big difference.

“This is a pretty modest approach to trying to limit the massive amounts of pollution that this equipment emits, not to mention the health impact on the workers who are using it constantly,” he said.