AG approves phasing out gas blowers

With the last weeks of August upon the Vineyard, the constant drone of leaf blowers during fall cleanups may not be as loud this year. 

After contentious town meetings across the Island last spring surrounding a proposed phaseout of gas blowers, the state attorney general has recently signed off on bylaw changes for Chilmark, Edgartown, Oak Bluffs, and West Tisbury. Tisbury town clerk Hillary Conklin said her town will be receiving the final version of its bylaw in the beginning of October from the attorney general’s office. Aquinnah did not have the proposal on its agenda, but officials say they are open to discussing the issue.

Following a grassroots effort by Islanders tired of the noise and pollution from gas-powered leaf blowers, voters in the five municipalities on the Island approved phasing out the tools. Bylaw changes require approval from the state attorney general. The measure was also meant to push for a transition to electric leaf blowers, although there was criticism from homeowners and landscapers, who highlighted that the ban will increase the time it takes to get work done, and that it will be costly to replace equipment. 

While the full prohibition of gas blowers isn’t scheduled to take effect until June 2028, there are restrictions that will be taking place starting in the fall for towns with state-approved bylaws. These include limiting hours and days when leaf blowers are allowed to be used, and allowing only two leaf blowers to be used simultaneously on a property. The combustion leaf blowers will only be allowed seasonally as well, March 15 through May 31, and Oct. 15 through Jan. 15. 

Electric leaf blowers will be limited to those that produce noise up to 65 decibels, which Yale Environmental Health and Safety states is around the volume of a “normal conversation.”