![Gas-powered lawnmowers that run for an hour produce pollutants equivalent to a car driving 300 miles. [Rudy and Peter Skitterians / Pixabay]](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/58549bc/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1920x1275+0+0/resize/840x558!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Flegacy%2Fimages%2Fnews%2Fnpr%2F2020%2F02%2F809084942_1141484863.jpg)
Residents living in Summit, Portage, or Medina county looking to switch to greener options to help the environment can start with their lawn mower and possibly get paid to do it.
Dawn Meyers talks about why gas-powered mowers are harmful to the environment.
The Akron Regional Air Quality Management Districtis offering $100 gift cards to people who switch from a gas-powered mower to a battery powered mower. The district says battery powered lawnmowers release no exhaust, mow quieter and require low maintenance.
People are used to gas-powered mowers so they don’t think about their environmental effects, Summit County Public Health Educator Dawn Meyers said.
“But in reality there’s millions of small particles that we breathe in while we’re pushing that lawnmower around, and we’d like to see folks make the switch to that, which would be much healthier for themselves and for their neighbor," she said.
Interested residents have to pre-register and the program is limited to 100 households.
People interested in making the switch can buy a new battery powered mower and bring in the working gas-powered mower to be scrapped at one of three exchange events:
- March 28 at the Portage County Combined General Health District
- April 4 at SCPH & at ReWorks HHWRC in Stow
- April 25 at Medina County Health Department in Medina
You can find more information about the exchange events and pre-register at www.scph.org/air-quality/lawnmower-exchange
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