The NJ ban list keeps growing — and your leaf blower is next

South Orange in Essex County has heard enough.

The village's Environmental Commission went before the council last week with a proposal that would phase out gas-powered leaf blowers entirely by 2027. If it passes, the seasonal restriction already on the books since 2022 — no gas blowers from May through September — would expand to cover nearly the entire year starting this fall. By 2027, they'd be gone from the village altogether.

Environmental Commission Chair Kathleen Grant laid out the numbers plainly. Gas leaf blowers generate more than 110 decibels at the operator's ear — above the threshold linked to hearing damage. Running one for 30 minutes produces as much hydrocarbon pollution as driving a full-size pickup truck nearly 4,000 miles. The sound carries far enough to reach more than a hundred homes from a single yard.

Those numbers are not new. What's new is that more New Jersey towns are deciding they've heard enough of them.

New Jersey's banning spree: from leaf blowers to fire pits

I've been watching this list grow all year. It started with leaf blowers, but by spring it had expanded to plastic bags, fire pits, loud cars, e-bikes on the boardwalk and — in one Morris Township case that went all the way to a federal lawsuit — natural gas lines in new construction. New Jersey hasn't always agreed on much lately, but the banning impulse has never been more bipartisan or more local.

South Orange is not the first and won't be the last. Hoboken, Montclair and a string of other communities have already put gas blowers on restricted schedules or are working toward outright bans. The statewide gas leaf blower bill, S623, has been moving through Trenton with the backing of landscaping reform advocates and public health groups. It keeps picking up co-sponsors.

SEE ALSO: Why NJ towns are banning plastic, leaf blowers and e-bikes 

What the ban would mean for NJ landscapers

The landscaping industry has pushed back hard — and not without reason. The transition costs are real. A commercial-grade battery-powered blower can run well above a thousand dollars. Some crews run multiple units all day. Grant's proposal acknowledged this directly, recommending equipment-sharing programs, public education campaigns and a business directory to steer residents toward contractors who've already made the switch. That's more thoughtful than most bans arrive.

For what it's worth, the electric equipment has gotten genuinely better. The complaint for years was power — that battery blowers couldn't move wet leaves the way a gas unit could. Consumer testing now says otherwise. Some electric models match or exceed gas performance. The transition argument has quietly shifted from "if" to "when" and now, in South Orange, to a specific date on a calendar.

South Orange gas leaf blower ban: what happens next

The village council hasn't voted yet. A public hearing will come first, and resident feedback will shape whatever ordinance eventually gets drafted. But the direction is clear. South Orange moved from a seasonal restriction in 2022 to a phase-out proposal in 2026. The gap between "we're looking at this" and "it's the law" has gotten shorter everywhere.

If you're a landscaper in Essex County, you already know what's coming. If you're a homeowner who still fires one up on a Saturday morning, you may want to pay attention to what your town is quietly reviewing.

New Jersey's banning spree hasn't slowed down. It just keeps finding new things to put on the list.