What Is Mow Down Pollution?
Mow Down Pollution is an initiative of the Clean Air Foundation and The Home Depot Canada. The program is designed to encourage and reward Canadians for permanently retiring their older, higher-polluting gasoline mowers and trimmers. If you bring in your old gas mower or trimmer to any The Home Depot location across Canada during the event you will receive an instant rebate on the purchase of a cleaner push reel, electric, cordless electric or low emission gas mower or trimmer. We will ensure that your old mower is recycled responsibly. No purchase is necessary to take advantage of the free recycling.
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Mow Down Pollution and Eco Options
This year’s Mow Pollution event will take place at 166 locations of The Home Depot across Canada from April 17th to April 27th, 2008. To participate, bring in your higher-polluting gasoline lawnmower or trimmer to the nearest location of The Home Depot to receive a valuable incentive towards the purchase price of cleaner alternative products such as push, cordless electric, electric, or low-emission gas mowers and trimmers, most of which are Eco-Options certified.
Environmental Benefits
Most of us don't think of garden equipment as causing much air pollution, but the small engines found in lawn mowers, leaf blowers and weed trimmers and other small off-road engines are a significant source of GHG's, air pollution, and smog. Environment Canada estimates emissions from off-road engines to make up about 10% of Canada’s GHG’s.²
The most environmentally friendly alternative to a gas mower or trimmer is the reel push mower, which provides you with a bit of exercise and emits no pollution. A number of manufacturers are producing electric or cordless rechargeable mowers. They are easy to start, require no gas or oil and are very cheap to run. Also, some of these mowers generate about half the noise levels of their gas-powered counterparts.
In addition, there are better alternatives to traditional gas mowers and trimmers. For those of you with larger lawns in rural areas, engine emission regulations came into force on January 1, 2005, for new gas mowers. These regulations expect reductions in some GHGs from off-road small spark-ignition engines by about 44% by 2005.² Also, using a new low emission, four stroke gas mower with a spill-proof can prevents gasoline spills thereby lessening the environmental impact of using gas-powered mowers.
During Mow Down Pollution we take your old mower or trimmer and recycle it responsibly. We will ensure the oil and gas are removed and recycled and that parts of old mowers such as the steel are recycled.
2Environment Canada press release – November 19, 2003 |
