Facts & Info

• Since its inception in 2001, the Mow Down Pollution program has retired nearly 55,000 gas-powered mowers and trimmers and has reduced more than 2,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas and smog-forming emissions
• In 2007, an estimated 70% of Canadian households owned a gasoline-powered lawnmower (Statistics Canada)
• Gas-powered lawn equipment releases about 80,000 tonnes of emissions in Canada every year, using 151 million litres of gas (Statistics Canada)
• Operating a two-stroke gas-powered lawn mower for one hour can emit as much pollution as driving a car over 320 kilometres, according to Environment Canada and the U.S. EPA*
• In one year, the average two-stroke gas-powered mower can emit the same amount of smog pollutant as the average car travelling about 3,300 kilometres – almost the distance between Toronto and Edmonton! (Statistics Canada)
• Asthma, lung disease, cardiovascular disease, allergies, and many other human health problems have been linked to smog and poor air quality (Canadian Lung Association)
• Gas-powered mowers with four-stroke engines are 70% more efficient than their two-stroke counterparts. Electric mowers are even more efficient, reducing pollution by 90% (Environment Canada)
• Electric mowers have other benefits too: their energy cost is typically no more than $5.00 per year and they offer noise levels about half those of gas mowers
• Push reel mowers produce 0 emissions! Those available today are lightweight (16 - 30 lbs.) compared to the heavier (40 - 60 lbs.) models of the past

* Actual figures depend on the year, make, and model of both the vehicle and lawnmower in question (see Environment Canada and U.S. EPA for more information)