SEATTLE — The City of Seattle is set to begin its transition away from gas-powered leaf blowers.
Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell issued a directive in May outlining steps for departments within the city to begin transitioning to electric-powered leaf blowers. The order comes after the Seattle City Council passed Resolution 32064 in September 2022.
Resolution 32064 directed the City of Seattle and its contractors to phase out the use of gas-powered leaf blowers by 2025 "or later if necessary" and for businesses and residents of Seattle to phase out the use by 2027.
The primary departmental users of gas leaf blowers within the city, according to the mayor, are Parks and Recreation, Seattle City Light, Seattle Center and Public Utilities. In total, the City of Seattle currently has 427 gas-powered leaf blowers and 77 electric-powered leaf blowers.
Harrell's directive mandates every department only to buy electric-powered leaf blowers starting in July and requires one representative from each department to participate in a transition team.
By the end of the year, each city department will have to perform an assessment of current charging capabilities within each of their facilities and whether any upgrades are required. A transition plan will also be required to include phasing out at least 50% of gas-powered leaf blowers by 2025, 75% by 2026 and 100% by 2027.
The technology in electric leaf blowers is currently not on par with gas ones, and Harrell explained that a more immediate change across the board would greatly impact "municipal landscape maintenance."
Some future considerations for the city were included as well, including the use of electric trucks to improve mobile charging capacity, adjusted landscape design to limit the need for leaf blowers and investment in electrical capacity upgrades at department facilities.
