The future of gas-powered leaf blowers on the North Shore was recently debated at a community forum.
Hosted by Go Green Wilmette and Go Green Winnetka, a forum on potential regulations around the landscaping equipment was held Dec. 7. The meeting comes as many area towns are debating tighter restrictions for leaf blowers.
Beth Drucker, Go Green Wilmette co-founder, said at the outset there are discussions about limiting the use of gas-powered leaf blowers at the municipal level, but most communities do not have restrictions in place beyond the use of noise ordinances.
However, there may be changes coming to local laws.
“Working together on this issue across our boundaries will be the best way to ensure success in our towns and across our region,” Drucker said.
Kelly Nichols, advocacy and outreach associate for Chicago’s Respiratory Health Association, spoke about pollution-related issues she believed were tied into the use of gas-powered leaf blowers.
She said the engines produce chemicals and particles that damage lungs and can lead to asthma, cardiovascular disease, COPD and early death.
“There is no safe level of air pollution,” Nichols said.
Nichols pointed to specific issues with the gas-powered leaf blowers.
“They are often times a two-stroke engine. Two stroke engines are cheap and lightweight but they are way dirtier and lower on fuel efficiency,” she said.
However, Illinois Landscape Contractors Association Executive Director Scott Grams said the landscape industry is sustainable through a series of practices.
“We care deeply about the environment that we create and maintain,” Grams said.
Grams argued commercial gas-powered equipment produces a smaller carbon footprint compared to residential use. He said battery-powered machines do not have the capability of their gas-powered counterparts.
“The efficiency and the technology on the commercial side is currently weak,” Grams said.
However, the technology is evolving, according to Grams.
“Each and every year the equipment does get better,” he said. “This will happen sooner than you think but we are not there yet.”
Grams advocated for a three-year phase out for residential gas-powered equipment and five years for commercial equipment.
“We do not recommend that you offer any type of exemptions for golf courses or your public works departments,” Grams said. “If they are exempt in perpetuity because of their professional needs, than landscape contractors should also be exempt because of our professional needs.”
Looking at the issue at a local level, representatives of many communities talked about efforts within their borders.
Highland Park City Manager Ghida Neukirch said she is working with representatives of other North Shore communities in a newly started working group that will study the issue.
Research will be done on existing regulations, noise pollution, cost of equipment and other environmental concerns with a goal of having a report and recommendation delivered toward the end of 2022, Neukirch said.
In Winnetka, police Chief Marc Hornstein said the village has had a seasonal ban on gas-powered equipment since 1994 and pointed to enhanced enforcement this past year as more people were working from home due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Down south in Evanston, Ald. Eleanor Revelle said the city has had a leaf blower ordinance in place for many years but there was interest in tighter restrictions. That led to an ordinance passed in November that will phase out the equipment starting in April 2023.
Next year, the city will be hiring an environmental health inspector who will be charged with enforcing ordinance, Revelle noted.
“My hope is that as we do a better job with education, we won’t be having to issue tickets and people will be complying because they know what is expected of them,” she said.
In Glencoe, Hall Healy, a representative of the village’s Sustainability Task Force, would like to see a gradual ban in place by the spring of 2024.
Healy called for a collaborative approach involving municipalities, park districts, school districts and other groups.
“We might be able to tap grant funding that wouldn’t be available to a single community, but might be available to multiple communities to help the ease the pain on this transition,” Healy said.
In Wilmette, Village Manager Michael Braiman said a part-time employee was hired this year to enforce the seasonal ban that runs from May to the end of September.
Braiman said that program worked out well, receiving community support and it will continue in 2023.
Finally, Northbrook’s Sustainability Coordinator Tessa Murray said the village is looking forward to hearing back from the regional working group on recommendations, which could ultimately lead to suggestions for changes to specific village policies.
Daniel I. Dorfman is a freelance reporter.
