Salt Lake City launches springtime edition of popular landscaping equipment exchange
As Earth Month kicks off and yard chores beckon, Salt Lakers can now apply for money toward the purchase of electric landscaping equipment. The application opens today, offering Salt Lakers vouchers for the purchase of electric lawnmowers, string trimmers, hedge trimmers, edgers, chainsaws, and leaf blowers.
“I’m excited to launch Year 2 of the landscaping equipment program, which is one of the key initiatives of Clean Air SLC,” said Mayor Erin Mendenhall. “We’ve taken hundreds of polluting gas-powered landscaping tools out of our community in the first year. This spring, we’re going even further by providing more equipment types that Salt Lakers can choose from to make the switch to electric.”
Electric options are much cleaner than gas-powered alternatives, helping to clear the air at the home and neighborhood level while reducing overall carbon and criteria pollution in our airshed.
According to the Utah Division of Air Quality, using a gas-powered lawn mower for one hour produces the same amount of particulate pollution as driving a car 63 miles; using a gas-powered leaf blower for one hour is the equivalent of driving a car 727 miles; and using a gas string trimmer is the equivalent of driving a car 646 miles.
Voucher amounts vary based on whether a participant recycles a gas-powered piece of equipment or is making an electric purchase only.
- Participants can recycle up to two pieces of gas-powered equipment and receive a higher voucher amount (up to $458) to be used on the purchase of all-electric replacements.
- Recycling a mower earns a $299 voucher while recycling a smaller handheld tool receives a $149 voucher.
- Participants who do not recycle gas-powered equipment can apply to receive a $159 voucher for a mower or $79 for a handheld tool.
Eligible handheld tools include string trimmers, hedge trimmers, edgers, chainsaws, and leaf blowers.
Applications open at noon on Thursday, April 3, and will remain open until all of the funding has been disbursed (likely several weeks).
Salt Lake City is partnering with the City Ace Hardware locations at 612 E. 400 South and 477 N. 300 West, as well as the Home Depot at 328 W. 2100 South. Residents will take their gas-powered equipment directly to the store to be recycled and will then receive coupon codes to make purchases at those stores.
Applicants will need to select the vendor they wish to use and should take care in deciding which electric models will meet their needs, as this cannot be changed after the application submission.
The landscaping equipment exchange was recommended by the Mayor and funded for Fiscal Year 2024-25 by the City Council at $250,000.
Learn more at https://www.slc.gov/sustainability/landscaping/.