Challenge 2025 activists are calling on the government to ban “harmful” tools and follow in the footsteps of the United States, where several states have banned their use. The tools are also coming under increasing scrutiny across Europe, including in Germany where the ministry has said they should not be used unless they are “essential”.
Challenge 2025 ambassador Emma Gayler says leaf blowers emit “more harmful emissions than cars” and are “incredibly inefficient”.
She added: “With high gas consumption per second, it takes more than half the fuel of a Ford Fiesta to run for the same amount of time.
Fuel isn’t the only consideration though. it is also necessary to take an interest in noise pollution, especially when they are used in public spaces. Gas-powered leaf blowers are twice as loud as battery-powered alternatives and can cause permanent hearing loss for users.
In the United States, leaf blowers are banned or illegal in the states of California, Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Texas, and Vermont.
Ms Gayler said it would be “logical” for the UK government to overhaul the rules in the UK.
She added: “As efforts are being made to decarbonize the country’s vehicles and energy grids, the government should do more to encourage alternatives to combustion engines in garden machinery.”
Speaking on gas-powered equipment, she said “in an ideal world” the majority of products would be banned, but acknowledged that this is not always possible.
“While battery technology has improved dramatically and in some cases now exceeds the performance of their gas-powered counterparts, we recognize that this is not the case for all outdoor power equipment,” continued Mrs Gayler.
She added that it’s important to talk about banning products and looking at the “worst offenders who already have a viable battery alternative.”
They have also been criticized in the past for sending dust and other particles into the air as well as allergens.
A report from Challenge 2025 highlights a test in 2011 between a Ford v8 pickup truck and a standard 4-stroke leaf blower that found the leaf blower engine produced 6.8 times more nitric oxide and carbon dioxide. nitrogen than the v8 truck engine and 13.5 times more. carbon dioxide.
It also found that 89% of UK municipal tools used in public spaces, parks and school playgrounds run on petrol, using around 600,000 liters of fuel each year.
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Source: www.express.co.uk
This notice was published: 2022-05-01 09:00:00
