Improving Air Quality in Your Community
Outdoor Air - Transportation: Lawn Equipment
Additional Information
You can help homeowners reduce emissions of hazardous air pollutants (HAPs) and volatile organic compounds (VOC) that may affect homeowners, their families, their neighbors, and the community by conducting these activities:
- Raise public awareness
- Implement a lawn equipment exchange program
- Encourage the development of lawn equipment regulations
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Raise Public Awareness
How?- Develop publicity materials to raise public awareness about air pollution from lawn equipment. Materials could include:
- Brochures.
- Posters.
- Fliers.
- Fact sheets.
- Maintain a Lawn Equipment Awareness table at public places such as libraries, schools, or community centers.
- Sponsor a Lawn Equipment Awareness booth at public places and/or events such as malls, athletic events, or fairs.
- Reduced use of gas-powered lawn equipment due to increased public awareness.
- Costs associated with producing awareness materials.
- Costs associated with holding awareness events.
- Fact Sheet from EPA (PDF) (2 pp, 14 KB).
- Fact sheet from the California Air Resources Board (CARB) (PDF) (2 pp, 28 KB).
Implement a Lawn Equipment Exchange Program
How?- Conduct a survey of your area to determine the population of gas-powered lawn equipment in your area.
- Determine the amount of gas-powered lawn equipment you would like to remove from service.
- Seek and obtain funding for your program. Funding can come from a variety of public and private sources.
- Explore ways to provide alternatives to gas-powered lawn equipment. One way might be to use any funding obtained to provide vouchers for people to use when purchasing electric or manual lawn equipment.
- Work with local retailers and manufacturers of lawn equipment to see if they could offer alternatives to gas-powered lawn equipment at wholesale costs.
- Publicize your events with public service announcements, fliers, posters, utility bill stuffers, and other means of communications.
- Since 1997, the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District (SMAQMD) in California has sold 7,798 cordless electric lawn mowers, recycled 275.2 tons of metal from gas-powered lawn movers, and reduced emissions by 78.9 tons (SMAQMD).
- In the 5-year life of its program (1996 - 2000), Oregon's lawn mower trade-in program in the Portland area removed 2,006 gas-powered lawn mowers from service and reduced carbon monoxide, VOC, and nitrogen oxides emissions by 130.6, 14.6, and 0.2 tons per year (tpy), respectively (Oregon DEQ).
- In 1997, the Salt River Project sponsored a lawn equipment exchange program in Arizona where 3,600 lawn mowers and 100 other kinds of lawn equipment were traded in, and 1,625 electric lawn mowers were bought. Arizona estimated that VOC emissions were reduced by 20% and CO emissions by 185 tpy (Indiana Department of Environmental Management).
- Reduces air pollution due to removing gas-powered lawn mowers and leaf blowers.
- Costs related to conducting a survey within your area.
- Costs associated with developing publicity materials for the exchange programs.
- Costs related to exchange coupons or exchange equipment.
- Web site from the SMAQMD.
- Web site and program announcement (Word Doc) (7 pp, 67 KB, Word Viewer 2003) from the South Coast Air Quality Management District.
- Flier (PDF) (1 pg, 1.0 MB) from the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District.
- Louisville, Kentucky Lawn Care Rebate Program.
- Salt River Project (Arizona) Mowing Down Pollution lawn mower exchange program.
- Web pages from the Bay Area Air Quality Management District for their 2004 and 2005 Lawn Mower Exchange Programs.
Encourage the Development of Lawn Equipment Regulations
How?- Work with your state, local, or Tribal agencies to determine how much of air pollution emissions may be contributed to lawn equipment.
- Work with your state, local, or Tribal agencies to draft regulations to present to the appropriate governing body.
- Remain involved in the legislation process.
- Reduces emissions of air pollution due to removal of gas-powered lawn equipment from service.
- Time and monetary costs associated with working to pass state and/or local laws.
- EPA regulations for small engines.
- EPA information on lawn and garden equipment.
- CARB regulatory information.
- Information about CARB's small off-road engine regulations (includes lawn equipment).