The city of Dallas could pay you $200 for buying electric lawn equipment. Here's the proposal.
DALLAS - In the battle over leaf blowers, the city of Dallas is considering an incentive plan to get residents to buy electric lawn equipment over gas-powered varieties.
The incentive plan is estimated to cost the city $24 million while saving the average household $200.
The idea is that the city would offer either a discount or a rebate to people who purchase electric lawn equipment instead of gas-powered.
It is a much different conversation compared with the idea of a ban on gas-powered equipment that the city considered two years ago.
A freshly mowed lawn changes the look of a home and a neighborhood, but some Dallas City Council members are concerned about how much that fresh lawn costs the environment.
"A 2020 EPA study found 68,000 tons of smog-forming oxides. That’s the equivalent to 30 million cars, and it’s coming from this equipment every year," Councilman Chad West told the city council.
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The alternative electric equipment is more costly.
Two years ago, the city council considered an outright ban on gas-powered lawn equipment. But in 2023, the state legislature made city bans illegal.
So now, Dallas city leaders are proposing an incentive program.
Residents could receive a $50 rebate on electric leaf blowers and edgers, a $100 rebate on lawn mowers and a $200 rebate on riding mowers.
City leaders expect 3,500 households to take advantage of the rebates. The price tag is $ 24 million.
The money for the program is already set aside for this purpose in the budget. It might include an additional $50 for people who turn in gas-powered equipment.
Councilwoman Carolyn King Arnold pointed out the need to closely monitor a program like that.
"I think there are things you need to work out," she said. "Will you have data? The person's name will be in a database one time so you don't have folks stealing equipment coming to get paid. That is a good paycheck."
And there is also the question of how people should properly dispose of batteries for electric equipment.
Overall, the council members on the committee voiced support.
The rebate plan would also include $25 for battery replacements.
The city is facing challenges with getting its own landscapers to transition.
Its largest vendor has only transitioned 5% of its equipment. The city's expectation was for 10% of its equipment by now.
The full city council will vote on the plan in the coming months.