Focus — The ZEE Revolution
“...We all want to change the world” ZEE Revolution is upon us
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by Nina A. Koziol hen September rolls around and the leaves are falling in earnest, residents of the tree-lined streets in Chicago’s Andersonville neighborhood can expect the melodious sounds of gas-powered leaf blowers blasting the debris into piles for collection. As one resident who works from home describes it, “The noise is non-stop from morning until it gets dark.” In 2020, a bill was introduced in the Illinois General Assembly that would have banned the operation of gaspowered leaf blowers, but it was shelved. Although Chicago does not have a noise or emissions ordinance addressing gaspowered landscape equipment, some suburbs and towns have enacted them. The city of Evanston, for example, prohibited the use of gas- or propane-powered leaf blowers in 2021 and restricted the hours in which electric leaf blowers may be used. The city is also asking contractors to phase out fossil
fuel-powered lawn equipment. “Most of these efforts stemmed from the pandemic and the noise that gas powered equipment generates,” says ILCA’s Executive Director Scott Grams. “More people in their houses during the day meant more noise complaints. The arguments are usually broader—environmental concerns, emissions, operators breathing in fumes, etc. However, most communities seem to want to shift due to the noise that gas powered equipment emits.” Manufacturers from Echo, Stihl, Husqvarna, Ego, Toro and others have rolled out battery powered string trimmers, stick edgers, handheld and backpack blowers, chainsaws, hedge trimmers, snow blowers and pole saws. “The biggest push where the bans are concerned are for blowers,” says Dino Castino, business development manager at Russo Power Equipment. “Everything in two-cycle is available
No gas or oil needed for battery operated mowers
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The Landscape Contractor December 2023