BRATTLEBORO — Brattleboro-area residents will get a chance to exchange their gas-guzzling lawn mowers for a brand new, discounted Neuton, the leading battery-powered lawnmower, thanks to a special offer by Vermont-based Country Home Products and Central Vermont Public Service.
The Mow Down Pollution lawnmower exchange will be held on Saturday, April 30, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the Windham Solid Waste Management District facility at 327 Old Ferry Road.
The discounted price will be offered for both the Neuton CE 5 (14” blade) and CE 6 (19” blade), which will be sold at the discounted rate of $264 and $349, respectively, including VT sales tax. Retail prices for the two are $399 and $499, respectively. Once there, residents can dispose of their old gasoline mowers for free. The discount price is available even if participants do not have a gas mower to turn in.
A typical gasoline-powered lawn mower emits more than 87 pounds. of climate changing carbon dioxide a year. With more than 54 million Americans mowing their lawns every weekend, a staggering 4.6 billion pounds of CO2 is contributed to the atmosphere each year.
Gasoline-powered lawn mowers contribute at least five percent of the nation's total air pollutants, and just one gas-powered lawn mower used for a year can pollute the same amount as 43 new cars driven for a year. Also, each year, homeowners spill 17 million gallons of gasoline when refilling their lawn equipment, which contaminates soil and groundwater.
By putting 4,000 working gasoline mowers out of commission, smog-forming volatile organic compound emissions would be reduced by up to 19.7 tons per year.
The Mow Down Pollution lawnmower exchange is made possible through the collaboration of Brattleboro Climate Protection, Country Home Products, Central Vermont Public Service, and the Windham Solid Waste Management District.
Country Home Products, based in Vergennes, supports lawnmower clean air programs across the United States and is a major sponsor of this project. To learn more, contact Paul Cameron at 802-251-8135 or at pcameron@brattleboro.org. No advanced reservation of mowers is necessary. Simply show up.
For more information on the Neuton Battery-Powered Mower, or the Mow Down Pollution program, please contact Allison Cranmer at acranmer@neutonpower.com or at 866-751-7372.