The City of Ann Arbor is offering a program allowing residents to exchange gas-powered leaf blowers for rebates towards rakes and electric leaf blowers.
Ann Arbor plans to enforce an ordinance prohibiting gas-powered leaf blowers starting in 2028. The city is hoping its leaf blower rebate program is helping residents transition away from them.
Joe Lange is the senior energy analyst for the Office of Sustainability and Innovations. He says gas-powered leaf blowers has a significant negative impact on community health.
“They have a high level of noise pollution and do contribute to our greenhouse emissions. So, we’re working to phase those out.”
Lange says gas-powered leaf blowers contribute up to 0.5% of total emissions in the country. He says it might not seem like much, but eliminating that source of pollution is a major step in achieving Ann Arbor’s carbon neutrality goals.
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