Is Portlands New Leaf-blower Ban Too Strict or Not Strict Enough?
through October, according to an article by Pat Dooris from KGW.com. From November through February the limit is increased to 70 decibals. Is this a fair standard or is the city cracking down too hard on industry? With only a handful of compliant blowers on the market, the new regulation could make it tough for smaller companies to comply with the new law. The trouble is production rates and labor costs. Generally the louder the blower, the better it is at moving the large piles of heavy, wet leaves we are blessed with in Portland. According to Dooris, this is one of the reasons the city decided not to employ a complete ban. Still, the cost of replacing blowers could be high. One of the better low-emission, low-noise blowers on the market is the Stihl BR500, which retails for around $500 and is considerably less powerful than the louder, more pullutive blowers used by many landscaping companies which are often $100 or $200 cheaper. The BR500 is a good blower, but the cost of replacing
