The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a motion on Tuesday, Dec. 20, to connect landscapers with monetary incentives to help them transition from using gas-powered leaf blowers to electric alternatives.
The motion notes that state and local environmental districts are offering various grants, rebates, equipment exchange programs and vouchers that amount to millions of dollars.
“We have a responsibility to stand up and ensure all gardening and landscaping business owners are aware of the support that’s available to them,” said Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who authored the motion. “Our county has a responsibility to educate our smaller – often unlicensed – landscapers so they don’t miss out on the opportunity to protect the environment, improve public health, and eliminate noise pollution. The more people we engage, the more change we can achieve.”
Supervisor Janice Hahn shared her perspective on the importance of the motion.
“These gas-powered leaf blowers produce a shocking amount of pollution that is hurting our air quality and is devastating to the health of the workers who inhale that exhaust for hours a day,” Hahn said. “Replacing these leaf blowers with electric ones can be expensive, but incentives and rebates exist, and we need to make sure that small businesses and workers are familiar with all the options available to them. Their work should not come at the expense of their health.”
Los Angeles County’s new Department of Economic Opportunity, along with the Department of Consumer and Business Affairs and their Office of Immigrant Affairs and several other county departments, will begin to implement their proposed communications plan and will report back with their progress to the Board of Supervisors in 60 days.
[Information via news release from the office of Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger.]
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Landscaper101 says
We have tried the Battery operated leaf blowers and they don’t last a full days work. Obviously Kathryn Barger has no idea what a full days work is with a leaf blower. If you think buying extra batteries is the answer we would have to buy 10 to 12 batteries to carry around in the work truck especially in the Fall when the leaves fall off the trees. All this additional weight means more gas will be used to drive from home to home, maybe she will offer to buy all the landscapers electric trucks? Back to subject the landscapers trucks already full of equipment now need to carry batteries?
All this is NOT going to help the environment?
warm-fish-salad says
What a crock, they understand that a lil ol leaf blower won’t help the environment much when other states (yes there are other states) don’t even regulate the pollution they produce. If we eliminate all gas powered leaf blowers/generators/lawn mowers etc, the non electric leaf blowers/generators/lawn mowers that are still in use in the other 49 states, not even including other COUNTRIES won’t matter.