ATHENS, Ga. (AP) - One Georgia community may be ready to hush noisy leaf blowers.
Athens-Clarke County Mayor Kelly Girtz recently asked a committee of commissioners to study regulating the devices.
Girtz said Athens-Clarke could consider banning gas-powered leaf blowers, which are noisier than electric ones, the Athens Banner-Herald reports. She said the city-county could also limit hours or days of the week when people can operate leaf blowers.
“They are a scourge,” said Athens-Clarke Commissioner Russell Edwards. “It seems to get worse every year. It’s just getting out of control. You’ve got companies leaf blowing at 8 in the morning on Saturday.”
Some critics dislike not only the noise but the polluting fumes that blowers emit. One 2011 test showed a two-stroke gas blower emitted significantly more toxic pollutants than a well-tuned pickup truck.
The COVID-19 pandemic has intensified criticism is some areas by keeping more people at home in the daytime, exposing more to the sound of leaf blowers.
Some New York communities have enacted temporary daytime bans on leaf blowing, while some California jurisdictions have banned gas leaf blowers since the 1970s.
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