Bans on this landscaping tool continue to spread across the US. See where. [View all]

Fall is here, which means leaves are falling. But when it comes to cleaning up the leaves and clearing them away, more cities and states are banning gas-powered leaf blowers as the tool of choice.

More than 200 cities, counties and local jurisdictions – and several states – have either banned the use of gas-powered leaf blowers, passed restrictions on their use or provided incentives to consumers, landscapers and other companies to purchase electric equipment as a more eco-friendly alternative.

The issue continues to gain momentum. Just west of Washington, D.C., Arlington County, Virginia, is considering a year-round ban on gas-powered leaf blowers. In the New York State Legislature, a bill creating a rebate program for the purchase of electric lawn equipment passed the Senate with bipartisan support (11 Democrats, 22 Republicans voted yes), but time ran out in the session before it could pass in the Assembly. Proponents are working to convince New York Gov. Kathy Hochul to include the measure in her 2026 budget.

The pollution discharged by gas-powered leaf blowers can contribute to or cause health issues, including asthma and heart attacks, proponents said in a letter sent to Hochul on Sept. 10. "It’s estimated that in 2020 alone, gas-powered lawn equipment in New York produced almost 1.4 million tons of climate pollution, the equivalent to the emissions from more than 300,000 cars annually," the letter reads, citing findings from the Environment America Research Policy Center.

Public officials and communities may initially oppose gas-powered leaf blowers due to the noise they make. "It's fall, leaves are falling from the trees and there's this incessant whirring of the (leaf blower) ... you're trying to keep your windows open and you can smell the gas (and) the smoke," said David Masur, executive director of PennEnvironment, a nonprofit environmental advocacy group, assisting proponents seeking rebates for electric lawn equipment purchases in New York and Pennsylvania.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2025/10/04/gas-powered-leaf-blowers-ban/86457674007/?tbref=hp

Yay! I hate them! Ours is a Ryobi battery powered thing and we only use it twice a year. We mulch our leaves into the lawn in spring, and we have a LOT of them---we live on 4.5 acres, and 3/5 of them are wooded.