Colorado could ban the sale of gas-powered mowers and blowers beginning in 2025
Regional air quality leaders say such a dramatic move would be one way to get real ozone cuts by 2026, when EPA demands kick in
The Colorado Sun
Olivia Sun/The Colorado Sun via Report for America
All sales of gas-powered home lawn mowers, trimmers and leaf blowers would be banned in metro Denver beginning in 2025 to attack severe ozone pollution, according to draft policies circulating at the Regional Air Quality Council and targeted for a vote by statewide authorities later this year.
The most likely proposals would also ban summer use of existing gas-powered lawn equipment by big institutional users such as schools or parks and maintenance crews beginning in 2025, and by commercial users a year after that.
Emissions from gas-powered lawn equipment make up a surprisingly high portion of chemicals that bake into summer ozone under Colorado’s hot sun. California already has a sales ban, beginning in 2024. Various Colorado local governments have offered incentives to turn in gas equipment for voucher discounts to buy new electric gear, but a full sales ban and summer-use ban is a big trial balloon the RAQC is floating in early working group drafts.
Read the full story at ColoradoSun.com.
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