Radnor considers phasing out gas-powered leaf blowers
Radnor Township residents are debating whether the township commissioners should adopt an ordinance phasing out gas-powered leaf blowers as Lower Merion did last December. Radnor residents can make their opinions known at a town hall planned for April 23.
An April 7 town hall drew about 50 people despite short notice, with more than 20 residents making comments. The audience’s reaction was mixed with about half negative and half positive, according to a resident who attended the town hall. Several people on both sides had suggestions about alternatives to gas-power leaf blowers or about restricting the use of GLBs rather than banning them altogether.
The April 23 town hall will be held at the township administration building, 301 Iven Ave., at 6:30 p.m.
The Radnor Environmental Advisory Council is recommending Radnor enact an ordinance restricting the gas-powered blowers like the one enacted by Lower Merion last December.
Lower Merion’s ordinance prohibits the use of gas-powered leaf blowers from June 1 to Oct. 1 this year. In 2027, they are prohibited from Jan. 1 to April 1 and again from June 1 to Oct. 1. These restrictions allow for their use during spring cleanup and fall leaf leaf-raking season.
In 2028, Lower Merion will allow the lead blowers to be used only in the fall, from Oct. 1 to Dec. 31.
Finally in 2029, gas-powered leaf blowers will be totally banned.
Proponents of a ban argue that leaf blowers cause severe noise pollution and pose a risk of injury to landscape workers, children and the public both from the noise and from breathing air full of pollutants generated by the blowers. OSHA requires employers to provide workers with noise-cancelling headphones.
Those reacting negatively at the April 7 town hall, including owners of large properties, worry about the cost of changing to electric leaf-blowers. Landscape contractors would likely pass those costs onto homeowners, some said.
Others suggested that the commissioners ban two-stroke leaf blowers while allowing less noisy four-stroke equipment, restrict the use of GLB’s to certain daytime hours or use mulching lawn mowers instead.
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