NCC banning gas-powered garden and lawn tools

NCC Going Green NCC CEO Tobi Nussbaum tells us more about banning gas-powered tools on all NCC managed properties to help with greenhouse gas emissions.

OTTAWA — The National Capital Commission is putting gas-powered gardening and lawn tools into the shed for good.

The crown corporation has announced it will ban the use of gas-powered leaf blowers, line trimmers, hedge trimmers and small chainsaws on NCC lands starting on April 1, 2023.

The ban will apply to all NCC maintenance contractors.

"As the first jurisdiction in Canada to enact a blanket ban on the use of gas-powered small tools, the NCC is committed to climate change leadership and creating a greener and more sustainable National Capital Region," said NCC chief executive officer Tobi Nussbaum.

The NCC says banning the use of gas-powered small tools accelerates progress towards its objective of reducing vehicle and equipment emissions by 80 per cent by 2030.

Gas-powered gardening and lawn tools could soon be banned at Ottawa City Hall.

Coun. Rawlson King is calling on the city to begin phasing out the use of gas-powered lawn and yard equipment as soon as next spring.

King introduced a motion at the standing committee on environmental protection, water and waste management calling on the public works department to end the use of gas-powered equipment when the equipment requires replacement and an electric alternative is available.

"There are many negative impacts to gas-powered leaf-blowers," said King, noting two-stroke engines used in gas-powered lawn and yard equipment have shown to emit more than 20 times the carbon monoxide than a vehicle.

California has passed a state law that effectively bans the sale of new gasoline-powered tools to curb air pollution, by Jan. 1, 2024.

The city of Ottawa committee will discuss King's motion at its next meeting in February.