March 14, 2006
Leaf Blower Valued at $460 Available for $200 With Trade-In of Old
Blower
Following six successful events in the greater Los Angeles area, the
Southland’s air quality agency will offer professional gardeners in the
Coachella Valley an opportunity to exchange highly polluting, backpack leaf
blowers with new low-polluting, low-noise models.
“These machines are a significant source of smog-forming emissions,” said
Roy Wilson, Governing Board Vice Chairman of the South Coast Air Quality
Management District and Riverside County Supervisor. “In one year, the
average two-stroke backpack leaf blower emits as much pollution as 80 new
cars.”
AQMD will offer to exchange about 100 new blowers from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.
on March 29 at Mowers Plus, Inc., at 79141 Country Club Drive in Bermuda
Dunes. Participants must pre-register by calling (888) 425-6247.
The backpack leaf blowers in the exchange program, manufactured by STIHL
Inc., are nearly five times cleaner than the California Air Resources
Board’s most stringent standard for new blowers. By scrapping 1,500 old
blowers and replacing them with low-emission STIHL blowers, the program will
reduce at least 14 tons per year of smog-forming emissions.
“Ten years ago, the basic two-stroke engine was quite dirty,” said Dan
Skinner, a branch manager for STIHL. “Technology advancements over the past
several years have significantly reduced emission levels. Today, we are
pleased to be sharing the STIHL
4-MIX® engine, which offers some of the cleanest technology currently
available.”
Modeled after AQMD’s highly successful residential lawnmower exchange
program, the air quality agency exchanged about 1,400 blowers in February
and March at events in La Crescenta, Riverside, Chino, Norwalk, Inglewood
and Santa Ana. A seventh event was added in the Coachella Valley at
Supervisor Wilson’s request.
“We have had a very enthusiastic response to this program,” Wilson said.
“I am pleased to extend it to the Coachella Valley.”
The STIHL BR 500 blower is a gas-powered, non-traditional four-stroke
model that also has one of the lowest noise ratings -- 65 decibels or about
14 percent quieter than the average two-stroke backpack blower.
In addition to emitting a significant amount of air pollution, the
estimated 49,000 commercial backpack leaf blowers in the Southland are a
frequent source of complaints due to their loud noise and tendency to create
large clouds of dust. At the exchange event, STIHL
representatives will train gardeners in the proper use of the blowers to
minimize suspension of dust.
Professional gardeners and landscapers can get a new STIHL BR 500
backpack blower, with a retail value of $460, for just $200 by trading in
their old, working blower at the Bermuda Dunes event. The program is
available to gardening and landscaping businesses, as well as local
governments, in AQMD’s four-county jurisdiction. Each individual may
exchange one blower. Cash, checks or major credit cards will be accepted.
The program is funded by $225,000 from AQMD’s Air Quality Investment
Program, which is financed by Southland companies that pay a fee in lieu of
offering rideshare incentives as required by AQMD’s Rule 2202. The leaf
blower exchange program will reduce more emissions than would be achieved by
an employer rideshare program.
AQMD is the air pollution control agency for Orange County and major
portions of Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside counties.
For more information on leaf blowers, see “Leaf Blowers: A Guide to Safe
& Courteous Use” (pdf*, 896 kb) which may also be accessed at the
Stihl website,
http://www.stihllibrary.com/pdf/LeafBlowerTraining.pdf.
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*PDF files require the use of a reader.
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