Private use of leaf blowers under the Outdoor Noise Directive
18.1.2022
Question for written answer E-000212/2022
to the Commission
Rule 138
Ciarán Cuffe (Verts/ALE)
A recent implementation report on the Outdoor Noise Directive (Directive 2000/14/EC)[1] found a lack of progress on lowering noise limits for outdoor equipment. Fuel‑powered leaf blowers are one item that could be prohibited under this directive.
Leaf blowers are major drivers of noise and air pollution[2][3]. In the decades since the Outdoor Noise Directive was drafted, extensive scientific research has emerged demonstrating the profound effects of such pollution on a wide array of neurological, respiratory and cardiovascular health outcomes[4][5].
Through emissions of nitrous oxide, leaf blowers also drive both ozone depletion and global warming[6].
Private consumers’ use of fuel‑powered leaf blowers has a strictly negative impact on society and is incompatible with the environmental objectives of the European Union. What are the Commission’s plans for revising the Outdoor Noise Directive to include a ban or tighter restrictions on these devices?
- [1] https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=COM:2020:715:FIN
- [2] https://www.audubon.org/magazine/spring-2021/why-cities-are-taking-action-limit-loud-and
- [3] https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2019/04/james-fallows-leaf-blower-ban/583210/
- [4] https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20210315-why-noise-pollution-is-bad-for-your-heart
- [5] https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v43/n23/david-wallace-wells/ten-million-a-year
- [6] https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2015AGUFM.B14A..01R/abstract