A push to ban gas-powered leaf blowers is gaining real momentum in NJ at the local level, and now at the statehouse. Here is what is happening, why it matters, and what it could mean for your yard, your budget, and your neighborhood.
In January 2026, Senate Bill S623 was reintroduced in Trenton by Senator Bob Smith (D-Middlesex), who chairs the Senate Environment and Energy Committee. This is not a new idea. The same legislation moved through committee in 2024 under a different bill number (S217), died without a vote when the legislative session ended, and came back with the same intent.
The bill lays out a phased timeline:
- Year 2 after passage: The sale of two-stroke gas-powered leaf blowers is banned statewide.
- Year 4 after passage: The use of two-stroke blowers is prohibited entirely. Four-stroke models are banned in all residential areas.
- Ongoing: Four-stroke blowers may still be used in non-residential zones, but only during two seasonal windows, March 15 through May 15, and October 15 through December 15.
As of this writing, the bill has been referred to the Senate Environment and Energy Committee and is still pending. There is no version of the bill in the Assembly yet, meaning it would need to clear both chambers and receive a governor’s signature to become law.
Several New Jersey municipalities have already placed bans on gas-powered leaf blowers including:
- Maplewood enacted a full year-round ban on gas-powered leaf blowers effective January 1, 2023. It covers both commercial landscapers and personal residential use. Property owners, the individual operating the blower, and any contracted service company can all be held responsible for violations.
- Montclair followed with its own permanent year-round ban.
- Princeton passed a seasonal ordinance limiting gas blower use to two windows: March 15 through May 15, and October 1 through December 15. Use is restricted on Sundays and holidays, with time limits and fines for violations.
- West Orange implemented seasonal restrictions with a full ban that went into effect January 1, 2026.
- Millburn and several other communities have also moved to restrict use.
More towns are actively debating the issue. Council meetings in communities like Madison have drawn packed rooms, with residents and landscapers both showing up to be heard.
The case for restricting gas-powered leaf blowers centers on two issues: emissions and noise.
Two-stroke gas engines are notoriously inefficient. According to research from the Mount Sinai Institute for Exposomic Research, approximately 30 percent of the gas and oil used by a gas leaf blower is not burned — it is released directly into the atmosphere. Those emissions include carbon monoxide, benzene, formaldehyde, nitrogen oxides, hydrocarbons, and fine particulate matter. These pollutants are linked to respiratory illness, asthma, cardiovascular disease, and in some studies, cancer and dementia.
One figure that keeps appearing in the policy debate: a gas leaf blower running for one hour produces as much carbon monoxide as a car’s tailpipe does in over eight hours of driving. That comparison is cited in the legislation itself.
The blowers also physically launch whatever is on the ground into the air — dust, pollen, mold spores, pesticide residue, and heavy metals from soil — at speeds up to 200 miles per hour. That is not just unpleasant. For people with asthma, allergies, or compromised immune systems, it is a real health concern.
Gas leaf blowers can reach 100 decibels — the equivalent of a jackhammer, or a jet taking off nearby. The low-frequency sound they produce travels far and penetrates walls and windows more readily than higher-frequency noise. Prolonged exposure at that level can cause permanent hearing loss. The people most at risk are the landscaping workers operating the equipment for hours at a time.
For communities, the noise impacts are well-documented. Residents living near areas with heavy landscaping activity report chronic exposure throughout the week, with meaningful effects on quality of life.
New Jersey landscapers, particularly small, family-owned operations have been vocal about the financial impact. Rich Goldstein, president of the New Jersey Landscape Contractors Association, has noted that a single landscaping company could face $79,000 or more in equipment replacement costs, plus the expense of retrofitting vehicles to charge batteries throughout the workday. For larger operations, that number could reach $200,000.
There are also practical concerns. Gas-powered blowers are generally more powerful than current electric models, and battery life on electric units can limit what a crew can accomplish in a full workday. As one landscaper put it plainly at a council meeting: in this business, time is money.
The average NJ property generates 30 to 50 cubic feet of leaves each fall season. That volume matters when you are evaluating the practicality of a fleet-wide switch.
The New Jersey Landscape Contractors Association sued Maplewood over its ban, arguing the town lacked the legal authority to restrict equipment that meets state and federal emissions standards. That legal question has not been cleanly resolved, and it could eventually require a court ruling rather than a council vote to settle.
The statewide bill includes a provision to soften the financial blow.
Companies that replace gas-powered blowers with electric models would be eligible for a corporation business tax credit covering up to 50 percent of the purchase cost, including batteries and charging equipment. The credit would be available for six years. Applicants would need to document the purchase and certify that the electric equipment replaced an existing gas-powered unit.
The credit helps — but many in the landscaping industry say it does not go far enough, particularly for smaller operations running on tight margins in a state that already ranks among the most expensive in the country for doing business.
If you live in a town that has already enacted restrictions, check your local ordinance. Rules vary significantly. Some bans cover only commercial landscapers. Others, like Maplewood’s, extend to personal residential use as well. Fines can apply to the property owner, the operator, and the contracted service company — not just the person holding the blower.
If you hire a landscaping company, it is worth having a direct conversation about where they stand on equipment. Some companies have already made the switch to electric and are finding it workable. Others are not there yet.
If you do your own yard work and live in a town without a ban, no change is required today. But given the pace of local ordinances and the momentum in Trenton, it is a reasonable time to look at electric alternatives before you are forced to.
This is a debate worth following — whether you are a homeowner, a renter with a yard, or a small business owner in the landscaping industry. The outcome will affect all of them.
