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<p>When conducting our annual assessment of air pollutant emissions, we include petrol
powered leaf blowers in the “Residential: Household and gardening (mobile)” category
(regardless of whether they are used in a residential setting or not). Our latest
assessment (National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory 2021) is that in 2021, this sector,
which also includes petrol-powered lawn mowers, chainsaws etc, contributed a total
of 3.5 tonnes of PM2.5 (0.004% of the UK total of 83.2 kilotons) and 328.8 tonnes
of NO2 (0.05% of the UK total of 677.1 kilotons).</p><p> </p><p>Leaf blowers are an
important tool for many in the landscaping and horticultural trades. As we continue
our transition towards Net Zero we will look at ways to encourage a switch to non-fossil
fuelled machinery, including mains and battery powered landscaping and horticultural
equipment such as leaf blowers.</p><p> </p><p>The Noise Emission in the Environment
by Equipment for use Outdoors Regulations 2001 regulate certain types of outdoor machinery
to control the noise they produce, in order to reduce environmental impact, particularly
in urban areas. The regulations list all the equipment they apply to, which includes
leaf blowers, and set permissible sound power levels that must not be exceeded.</p>
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