You may think that there are not many activities that are more environmentally friendly than creating a beautiful outside space. However, gardening tasks like mowing a lawn are not always as green as you might think. Using a gas-powered lawn mower can actually be damaging to the environment.
It’s important that you consider this potential damage when you decide what type of lawn mower to use in your yard. If you fail to do so, you could be cultivating a beautiful lawn at the expense of the environment around you.
The environmental impact of gas lawn mowers
Everyone knows that cars have been shown to be bad for the environment, and that pollution controls have been introduced to try and combat the problem. Since 2011, the emissions of motorized garden tools have had to be cut by 35% but there is still an issue. One gas powered lawn mower produces as much pollution in a year as 43 new cars, each being driven for 12,000 miles. More than 5 million gas powered mowers are sold in the US each year, so you can see that this is major environmental problem.
What is the alternative?
The good news is that no-one has to use a gas-powered lawn mower. There are alternative machines that can be used to keep a lawn in good condition.
- Push mowers are the best choice for anyone who wants to take care of their lawn in an environmentally friendly manner. They produce no emissions and they provide the additional benefit of a good workout when pushing them. That being said, these are not the push mowers of old. They can weigh as little as 16lbs, so it’s not an extreme effort to mow a regular sized lawn.
- Electric mowers are light and easy to manoeuvre. However, although they do not produce emissions themselves, they are powered by electricity which is produced in power stations that do produce emissions.
- Battery powered mowers are heavier to use than electric mowers. However, they seem to be the best option for the environment, after push mowers. The modern versions of these mowers have batteries that can generally reach full charge within two hours.
These alternatives are all a better option than using a gas-powered lawn mower in your yard. You can cultivate the healthy lawn that you want while helping to protect the planet.
You may not think that ditching your gas-powered lawn mower will do much to help the environment, but every effort helps. The more we carry on using machinery that relies on a fossil fuel for power, the more damage we cause. There are plenty of more environmentally friendly options available, so there is no need to carry on using a mower that is gas powered. The best choice is to get yourself a push mower, so that you can help to protect the environment and get fit at the same time.
Article Submitted By Community Writer