Regional Air Quality Council votes in favor of gas powered lawn equipment ban in Denver

The Regional Air Quality Council in Denver on Friday approved a ban on the sale of gas powered lawn equipment in an effort to improve the air quality of the metro area. The measure will now head to the Colorado Air Quality Control Commission.

 The commission will vote on the plan in December. If passed, the ban on sales of the equipment would go into effect in 2025.

It would affect sales of lawnmowers, leaf blowers and weed whackers. Commercial use of such products would also be limited from June to August.

"We know that pound-for-pound gas-powered lawn equipment especially this type of smaller equipment -- like push lawn mowers and handheld equipment like leaf blowers -- are actually the most polluting," said Kirsten Shatz a clean air advocate with the Colorado Public Interest Research Group, also known as CoPIRG.

A group called Associated Landscape Contractors of Colorado says they believe the technology isn't supportive of the change yet and estimate on average a crew right now would need 34 batteries for a typical day's work. They say the cost would be too high for landscaping businesses to be able to operate.

LINK: mowdownpollution.org