'I Also Use it for Blowing Dust and Rubbish'

The world-famed Icebergs swimming pool in Bondi Beach, outside Sydney, Australia. (Leaf blowers not shown.) QCDC photo.

From Bondi Beach, in Australia, a Sydney Morning Herald report on the tensions over restricting use of gas-powered leaf-blowers.

It seems as if the Australian debate resembles the level of discussion in the U.S. several years ago, before two points became far more widely known.

One is the exceptional public-health and pollution damage done by gas-powered leaf blowers, starting with their effect on lawn crews themselves. The other is the rapid emergence of battery-powered alternatives.

The SMH story, by Andrew Taylor, is here. A quote from the end:

Bondi Beach landscape gardener Wojtek Skibowski said he was surprised by the campaign to ban gas-powered leaf blowers given other equipment such as lawn mowers and whipper snippers made a similar level of noise. “To be honest, in six years I’ve never heard anyone complain,” he said.

Mr Skibowski also uses electric leaf blowers but he said they were not as efficient. He said leaf blowers were used for more than just getting rid of fallen leaves.

“I also use it for blowing dust and rubbish that’s left over,” he said. “To do a clean up job, it’s almost impossible without a leaf blower.”