A City of Burnaby is looking at ways to cut down on the use of those annoying – and polluting – pieces of gas-powered equipment like leaf blowers and lawn mowers.
The city’s environment committee wants council to approve a letter to Metro Vancouver “advocating for stringent emission reduction measures from non-road small equipment and provision of incentives to switch from gas to electric powered equipment.”
The committee, at its meeting held on Sept. 14, adopted the above noted recommendation arising from discussion on the use of outdoor gas powered equipment, says a city staff report.
The city is participating in a pilot project with the Burnaby business Aether Catalyst Solutions Inc. to evaluate the effectiveness of its catalyst technology to improve emissions from existing gas powered mowers.
“In the interest of emission reductions, the city does not have the authority under the Community Charter to ban the use of outside gas powered tools; however, Metro Vancouver does have the authority to regulate air quality in the region,” says the report. “The city advocating for stringent emission reduction and provision of incentives to switch from gas to electric powered equipment supports a number of the goals within the City’s Climate Action Plan. The partnership also supports the City’s Corporate Strategic Plan, as follows: The Environment Committee recommends that Council write a letter to Metro Vancouver advocating for stringent emission reduction measures from non-road small equipment, and provision of incentives to switch from gas to electric powered equipment.”
The city receives complaints each year from residents fed up with the noise from these machines, but, as the city says, there is an even bigger reason for getting rid of them due to the pollution produced.
