Did Colorado ban gas lawn mowers?

Colorado’s Air Quality Control Commission (AQCC) voted unanimously today to cut air pollution by restricting the summertime use of the dirtiest gas-powered lawn and garden equipment on public property. The new rule, which will go into effect during the summer ozone season in 2025, is the first statewide policy of its kind in the nation.

This decision means that starting in 2025, gas-powered push lawn mowers and handheld equipment such as trimmers and leaf blowers will be prohibited from June through August on state government property across Colorado, and on other public property such as local parks in the Denver metro and north Front Range regions. The action represents a good first step toward eliminating this unnecessary source of harmful air pollution.

Our recent report found that gas-powered lawn mowers, string trimmers, leaf blowers, chainsaws and other garden tools generate an astonishing amount of pollution and noise. Pollution generated by gas lawn equipment has been linked to health problems including asthma attacks, reproductive ailments, mental health challenges, cancer and even premature deaths. Emissions cuts from the lawn care sector are also an important way to reduce ozone pollution at a time when the Denver Metro/North Front Range area has been in violation of Clean Air Act standards for ozone for more than a decade.

Find more details on the new rule that the AQCC adopted here. Find more information on this topic, including how to take advantage of a new, statewide 30% discount on electric lawn and garden equipment and other financial incentives, at copirg.org/emower.