Yes, there IS a quiet, clean-running lawn mower

I just saw and heard it, in the wilds of suburban Boston

No I don’t mean a flock of geese although they’re said to be very good mowers.

The quiet mower I found lives in a semi-suburban town next to mine that’s home to hundreds of beautiful trees, but also to acres of well-manicured lawns whose grass is now brown and dead from the heat wave. (If you want to help save the planet it’s best not to grow a grass lawn, but for those who aren’t there yet, grass is king.) It’s because of the grass that the brain-frying sound and toxic smell of gas-powered lawnmowers is rampant.

On a recent bike ride through a big chunk of the town last week I was astounded to see and hear a man mowing his lawn with the quietest mower (besides a manual one) I’d ever heard. I stopped to learn more, and the man—let’s call him Mr. Smith—gave me a good intro to the mower, which was made by EGO. I should disclose that before the pandemic I wrote an article explicitly about what was available so far in non-gas-powered yard equipment, and did talk at length with an EGO rep. But I’d never been able to actually hear one of the mowers. I was told I could hear one in a store like Home Depot but was warned that it probably wouldn’t be a good representation of how it sounds in use in a real yard outside.

So this was the first time I’d encountered one, and while the mower certainly was not noiseless, it was very much quieter than most of the horrifying equipment—both mowers and leaf-blowers—I hear almost everywhere I ride or walk, and worse, when I’m in my own garden trying to experience a peaceful half hour. While Mr. Smith mowed within four feet of me, I was blown away by not feeling the usual terrible stress I feel when I’m within a block of most landscaping equipment.

Mr. Smith looked to be in his 50’s or 60’s and in good shape, about 5 ft. 6, and was pushing the mower with ease. This model is called “self-propelled” though I don’t think people just let it go; Mr. Smith’s hands were on the mower. But it looked like didn’t take much effort. and he said that mower would be good for anyone who isn’t super strong. He said EGO also makes non-self-propelled mowers, which I think cost less, and that for the price this one is fine for a yard like his (I’d call his yard medium/small). Its width (and part of its name) is 21 inches. You can also get 18-inch ones or others that are wider than 21 inches. His lawn was smallish in the front, and mostly grass. From what I could tell, the backyard and the house itself are similar in size to several others on that block, so it seems the 21-inch mower would do for many medium-size homes on most semi-suburban city blocks.

He said you can also get an electric (with power cord) from EGO but he prefers a battery. The price depends partly on the size of the battery, and if you have a lot to mow, you might buy two batteries so one can be charging while you use the other. On EGO’s website some of the mowers come with two batteries to start. His 21-inch mower with battery cost a little more than $400 when he bought it (sorry, I didn’t get to ask how long ago that was. This was a very impromptu interview so I didn’t want to stay too long!) He said if you bought a new gas-powered mower for somewhat less money, it might seem a better deal, but you’d have keep paying to refuel it, and you’d have to clean it and do all the other chores gas power requires that a battery mower does not. He added that he wants to fight global warming, too, and just doesn’t want gas anymore.

EGO battery-powered mower

He told me that while he knew other companies are making battery-powered mowers, he liked that EGO seemed extra concerned about global warming.

A few minutes later I happened to ride by a landscape team using a gas-powered mower not that much bigger than Mr. Smith's. The difference in sound level and the highly irritating sound quality were extra-disturbing after having just heard such a quiet machine. I heard the sound long before I saw the mower, and the toxic smell too was heavy in the air long before I could see the mower. I felt the usual stress and rode quickly past it. On the last leg of my ride I heard an obnoxiously loud and grating string-trimmer and asked the worker if it was electric. As I expected. it was gas. (Know that even some electric trimmers can be quite loud and extremely irritating, but hopefully that technology will improve.)

Most landscape companies I encounter use gas-powered everything—mowers, blowers, and trimmers. These companies seem to be working everywhere I go, and almost all the time. It seems extra cruel when the big trucks arrive near my own garden on the prettiest days when I really want to be out there. Doctors say it’s crucial for good mental and physical health that we get more nature into our lives. But any good effects from a garden or other green space we might spend time in can’t be experienced at all because of these roaring machines that are so bad for us and for the planet.

I didn’t get a chance to ask Mr. Smith if he’d used battery-powered leaf-blowers, which in my town and several others near me cause a great deal of misery and suffering along with the mowers. (Ego does sell battery-powered blowers and string-trimmers, though I haven’t heard them yet.) Gas leaf-blowers not only are extremely stressful to hear, but also spew toxic exhaust, creating high levels of formaldehyde, benzene, fine particulate matter, and smog-forming chemicals. These are known to cause dizziness, headaches, asthma attacks, heart and lung disease, cancer, and dementia, according to non-profit QuietCleanPDX.org of Greater Portland. QuietMontclair.org reports that just the benzene, 1,3 butadiene, and formaldehyde pose more cancer risk than almost any other organic air pollutants in the United States.

The good news is that increasing numbers of towns and cities are banning or at least limiting their use already. The bad news is that that’s still too few. Gas-powered loud landscape equipment no longer has anything to recommend its existence at all, given all the alternatives. Even if the new bill that will help with climate change is passed, it too is still not enough. So we private citizens plus states and cities need to take up the slack. Elected leaders must help. A friend who lives in Mr. Smith’s town told me that when she and other residents begged the town to limit hours allowing use of loud gas-powered equipment, it not only said No—it actually added hours! The sheer meanness of that response is sad, but not as sad as the fact that I’ve heard the same story in several other towns.

In their defense (somewhat) however, in most towns near me that tried to slow or stop use of the equipment, citizens and even town council members have been intimidated—no, let’s use the correct word—bullied—by some pretty nasty-tempered landscape company owners who insist they’ll lose money if they switch.

There’s no excuse for this because there are companies in the area that no longer use gas-powered equipment and are thriving. It must cost much less to use battery-powered equipment over time even if the company does have to pay a little more for it, and I’m not even sure the cost is higher in every case. As for the complaint that it will take the companies longer per yard if they don’t use gas equipment, on EGO’s site it's apparent it believes much of its battery-powered equipment is equal in efficiency and sometimes even more efficient.

About not growing grass—it’s not so difficult, and while an Englishman I met said he must have grass because it’s peaceful, he (and you) might be happy to hear there are many ways to create a beautiful landscape while helping to fight global warming, including planting shrubs, trees, and flowers. You can use low-growing groundcover plants for other calming sweeps of one color. You don’t have to mow the groundcover plants, which also keep weed growth down.

As for leaf-blowers, there’s no good excuse to use them any longer either. The payoff in better mental and physical health from not having these monsters around is way beyond any need to use them most people can come up with. In my yard we can rake and sweep leaves as fast as the guys with leaf-blowers blow them, and those guys often stand around just blowing dust into the air or into the street where it can go into the sewers.

We let some leaves gather near the base of smaller plants over the winter as a sort of natural mulch (but don’t let leaves or mulch get too close to shrub or tree trunks, since that can damage them). No one ever says “Oh how can you leave those leaves there?” No one notices them. They just see the lovely plants and flowers. It takes us about 15 minutes a day for 2 days to sweep the few leaves on our sidewalk, put them in a big pot or bucket, and empty that into a bag or bin with our yard waste that the city picks up.

It’s time for cities to accept that loud gas-powered equipment causes widespread devastating mental and physical suffering. It’s not just the joy-destroying noise when you’re outside trying to do some meditative work in your garden, or just sitting on your balcony. People with asthma must run inside when others’ landscape services come. Even inside with soundproof windows, we hear the dreaded noise and our walls shake because most services near us use leaf-blowers the size of cannons.

I’ve seen people in tears begging their town councils to ban gas-powered lawn equipment, and they are usually turned down. How can cities say they care about mental health and yet continue to allow the pollution and misery for so many hours of so many days? In many towns there’s hardly a time when this equipment cannot be used, so there’s little escape outside of sleep, and if you must sleep during the day, too bad for you. This is inhumane, and shamefully disregards global warming. How can town councils allow it, now especially, when our entire planet is crying out for relief?

Notes:

Here are just a few examples of EGO mowers ranging in price from $399 to $799. Mr. Smith said Home Depot used to sell EGO mowers but doesn’t anymore, and that you can get them online or at Lowe’s. Also I imagine he bought his mower some time ago so prices now are probably higher. But note that there are several very similar mowers at different rpices due to such differences as “Peak Power” etc.

EGO 21" Self-Propelled mower is equipped with Peak Power $799 (listed on EGO site)

POWER+ 21 Inch Self-Propelled Mower $499 (listed on the EGO site)

Power+ 21 inch Select Cut XP Mower with Touch Drive Self-propelled $799

EGO Power+ 56-Volt 21-in Push Cordless Electric Lawn Mower 5 Ah (Battery & Charger included)

The above one was listed at Lowe’s, and called Item #2546170, Model #LM2101 $399