As with so many issues, it is often the actions or opinions of a few that impact directly on the lives – or livelihood – of the silent majority. And because the numbers are so limited, an across-the-board ban will be easier and much less costly to implement than many of the other suggestions that have been advocated by LO members.

     The inappropriate use of leaf blowers is a significant contributing factor to the leaf blower issue, says Kathy Thomas of Green Thumb Landscaping (Burlington). Thomas’ suggestion: a training session to help staff fully understands the noise impact of leaf blowers. “If we already have the attention of the politicians, perhaps we could show them that we are understanding and want to work towards a solution.”

     Jay Murray of Tender Lawn Care, London, goes one step further in his suggestion of an arbitration service for blower complaints. Complaint calls to the city could be referred to this panel to arrive at an equitable solution. “In London, the calls we hear tend to refer to noisy equipment in general, not just leaf blowers, and the problems generally relate to the time of day, as in “I work nights and sleep until noon.” This person’s problems won’t go away with a ban on leaf blowers, especially if we’re using them responsibly at half throttle, which is all the power we usually need,” says Murray.

     Other jurisdictions in North America, most notably in California and Vancouver, have already begun to limit the noisy impact of leaf blowers with strict decibel levels, generally ranging from 75 down to 65 dba. While conceding the need to reduce noise levels, it is also necessary to consider the impact of efficiency, says Murray. “Joe homeowner has his $89 blower toy and spends 1.5 hours doing what we could do with a BR 400 in 10 minutes. Who’s more annoying?”

     In Ontario, the move to ban leaf blowers is currently restricted to the City of Toronto, although it has been an issue in other jurisdictions and sooner or later, any by-law changes made in Toronto are bound to have an impact on other municipalities. As such, the idea of a time of year restriction is of concern to Murray. “The term leaf blower is a misnomer,” he claims. “The man-hours saved from grass clipping clean-up throughout the year are substantially more than the man-hours saved cleaning up leaves. This is a maintenance tool we need to be able to access year-round.”

     While there has been a great deal of pressure applied to the manufacturing sector to develop less noisy leaf blowers that are still capable of getting the job done, little, if anything has been done about those contractors using poorly maintained and therefore, excessively noisy equipment. “We should consider,” says John Cameron of Cameron Landscaping, Toronto, “some form of mandatory annual blower inspection and a certification sticker to ensure noise suppression and pollution parts are doing their job.”

The Vancouver decision