A proposal to phase out gas-powered lawn mowers and leaf blowers drew forceful pushback and even threats to leave the state on Thursday night.
Bill H 5549, which would require that all lawn-care devices used in the state have zero emissions by 2028, looks unlikely to become law in its current form. Nonetheless, the owners of landscaping companies and machine dealerships packed the House Committee on Environment and Natural Resources to register their disapproval, with some waiting until nearly 10 p.m. to testify.
“It will kill jobs in the state, plain and simple,” said Ethan Hattoy, the general manager of Hattoy’s Nursery, Landscaping and Garden Center in Coventry.
Here’s what the bill says:
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Introduced by Rep. Rebecca Kislak, D-Providence, H 5549 would apply to lawn care devices including lawn mowers, leaf blowers, mulchers and chippers.
The bill would ban the sale of gas-powered devices by Jan. 1, 2025, and outlaw their use as of Jan. 1, 2028. All lawn care devices sold or used in the state would need to be zero-emissions.
The legislation also calls for a rebate program for the purchase of emissions-free devices “as available funds permit.”
Fines for violations would start at $50 and go as high as $500 for subsequent offenses. Date-stamped, geotagged videos would be considered legal evidence of a violation.
Kislak said that the goal was to transition toward electric alternatives, and indicated that she was open to making changes to the bill.
“I see this as a conversation,” she said. “I don’t know what the ideal transition or deadlines are … I’m really open to talking about how we get from here to there.”
Sen. Samuel Zurier, D-Providence, introduced similar legislation targeting gas-powered leaf blowers last year.
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The high-pitched whine of leaf blowers and weedwhackers can be a major irritation to people living in affluent places like the East Side of Providence, where landscaping crews are a constant presence and houses are close together.
“Especially now with so many of us working from home, it makes it extremely hard to concentrate,” Kislak said.
That might sound like a first-world problem, but supporters of the bill say that it’s not just about the noise — it’s also the pollution. According to New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation, the amount of carbon monoxide alone produced by a leaf blower in an hour is the equivalent of what would come out of a car’s tailpipe over eight hours.
“Operators are often persons of color and seasonal workers, bringing environmental justice to the forefront,” the Rhode Island Medical Society’s Climate Change and Health committee wrote in a letter to the committee.
The argument against the bill was summed up in written testimony from Allen Peck, the superintendent of Wilcox Park in Westerly.
“This bill would hurt small businesses due to the cost of the battery powered equipment, and the technology is not advanced enough yet to make most jobs efficient and cost effective,” he wrote.
Other landscapers testified that electric devices might work fine for homeowners who spend a few hours cleaning up their yards on the weekends, but can’t meet the needs of the industry.
Opponents also raised concerns about the potential costs involved, including buying multiple batteries or outfitting their trucks with charging stations.
Hattoy said that the electric equivalent of the $7,000 lawn mowers that his company uses would cost $37,000. It would also be less efficient, he said, so more labor would be required to do the same jobs.
“Even if you gave me this equipment for free, our costs will still go up,” he said.
Glenn Graeve of Graeve Landscaping testified that he’d switched to an electric mower after noticing that his asthma was getting worse.
“The results to my health were astounding,” he said.
Graeve now offers a special service, Lawns Gone Electric, using emissions-free equipment. Customers are charged 20% more, and “happy to pay, because they don’t have to hear me mowing their lawn,” he said. In two years, he said, his investment in electric equipment — including a $35,000 lawn mower — has already paid off.
Graeve suggested limiting the bill’s focus to string trimmers and mowers. “I just do not feel that the technology is there yet for tree or hedge work, snow removal, excavating or leaf removal,” he said.
Gas-powered leaf blowers are “far more powerful” than their electric counterparts, but should be allowed only for cleanup between November and January, he suggested.
Another potential compromise was proposed by Shannon Cuthill of New Leaf Landscaping, who suggested the state could introduce a pilot program and test the exclusive use of emissions-free lawn care equipment on state properties.
Both suggestions got a positive reception from the committee.