Will Michigan Lawmakers Ban Gas-Powered Leaf Blowers?

Cities nationwide including one Michigan college town have banned gas-powered leaf blowers. Will Michigan state lawmakers follow suit?

Cities in Washington, Oregon, California, New Jersey, and Michigan have passed laws banning the use of gas-powered leaf blowers. The New Jersey Senate is working on passing a statewide ban on these landscaping tools that are bad for the environment according to New Jersey 101.5,

When he (State Senator Bob Smith) first introduced the bill, he called blowers a "scourge on the local environment" and cited gas-powered leaf blowers as heavy polluters. Smith claimed a leaf blower produces more carbon monoxide in one hour than a vehicle would produce over eight hours.

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Last Winter city officials unanimously voted to ban gas-powered leaf blowers in Ann Arbor. This ban has two phases. As of June 1st, 2024, you can only use gas leaf blowers from October to May. In other words, no summertime use of gas leaf blowers in Ann Arbor. On January 1st, 2028, Ann Arbor will implement a full ban.

The major pushback that local governments are facing is from landscaping companies. Some of these companies currently own tens of thousands of dollars worth of gas-powered leaf blowers. Not only will all of those be garbage, they will also have to buy all-new electric leaf blowers and find a way to charge them on their vehicles. In order to charge them, they will have to keep their trucks running. Keeping trucks running and throwing away thousands of working gas-powered leaf blowers doesn't sound good for the environment either. So, is this a workable solution?

What do you think about a possible ban on gas-powered leaf blowers?