About Gasbusters

GASBUSTERS is a community-led initiative backed by more than 600 Toronto residents, 18 local groups, and 10 environmental organizations. Together, we’re calling for a phase-out of gas-powered leaf blowers in favor of quieter, zero-emission alternatives.

Our campaign is grounded in scientific evidence showing the serious health risks caused by the noise and pollution from these machines.

The message is clear: gas-powered leaf blowers threaten our health and environment. It’s time to choose a cleaner, quieter future.

Why Banning Gas-Powered Leaf Blowers Matters

Gas leaf blowers and other 2 cycle (two stroke) garden equipment disrupt neighbourhood tranquility and pose various health risks.

Noise

To understand how loud a sound is, consider these common comparisons:

A normal conversation: 60-65 dB
A vacuum cleaner: 60-85 dB
A typical car: 70 dB
Electric Blower: 60-80 dB
Gas-powered, 2-cycle leaf blower: 85 dB- 115 dB
A siren: 110-130 dB

Health Risks of High Noise Exposure

Prolonged exposure to noise above 85 dB can lead to hearing loss. Just 15 minutes per day of exposure to 100 dB can be damaging.
Over time, loud noise can also contribute to stress, fatigue, anxiety, depression, tinnitus, and even cardiovascular issues like heart attacks and strokes.
Hearing loss is the third most common chronic health condition and is strongly linked to cognitive decline and dementia. The CDC notes that noise-induced hearing loss is 100% preventable. It’s also one of the easiest and most affordable health risks to address: if a sound seems too loud, it likely is—and poses a threat to your hearing.
Most gas-powered leaf blowers impact the operator’s ears at 100–115 dB, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
These devices are notably loud often causing hearing damage with regular use.
Electric leaf blowers are much safer for prolonged use. Their lower noise output helps reduce health risks and complies more easily with local noise ordinances.

Effects of Air Pollution

Among the harmful agents in polluted air are tiny floating specks known as Particulates, mainly from vehicle exhaust and fossil fuels. Lodging deep in the lungs, they may contribute to serious health issues. Air polluted by exhaust fumes may contain a cocktail of of chemicals that affect the lungs, heart and brain and may even trigger certain forms of cancer. Pollutants can harm health in different ways depending on the type, amount, and duration of exposure, as well as a person’s age, health status, and genetic susceptibility. A recent study confirms links between air pollution and cardiovascular and respiratory death rates.

The dangers generally fall into a few main categories:

1- Respiratory System Effects

Air pollutants like Particulate Matter (PM₂.₅, PM₁₀), ozone (O₃), nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), and sulfur dioxide (SO₂) can:

Irritate airways, causing coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath.
Trigger or worsen asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Increase the risk of lung infections.
Long-term exposure can lead to reduced lung function and lung cancer.

2- Cardiovascular System Effects

Air pollution doesn’t just stay in the lungs — fine particles can enter the bloodstream.

· Increased blood pressure and heart rate·

. Greater risk of heart attacks, strokes, and heart failure.

· Acceleration of atherosclerosis (narrowing of arteries).

Summary:

Many times this summer, Toronto was the second most polluted city in the world. Air quality reached Level 10 and above on the Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) – a "Very High Risk" category – posing a serious long term health threat to residents, particularly children, seniors, and individuals with pre-existing conditions.

The leaf blower story.

The two-cycle gas-powered leaf blower is notoriously inefficient. The engine technology is 150 years old. Because the combustion is incomplete, fuel/oil mix is emitted unburned, releasing toxic pollutants into the air we breathe.

These machines are a major source of unsafe air pollution, releasing toxic, cancer-causing chemicals into the air. One example is the concentration of benzene in a gas leaf blower exhaust can be nearly 100 times higher than that emitted by cars. Decades of research have shown that inhaling emissions from gas-powered leaf blowers is unhealthy. Pollutant chemicals and particles from hundreds of two-stroke gas-powered leaf blowers in Toronto degrade air quality.

25% to 30% of the leaf blower emission released into the air is unburned gas and oil.

Compare pollution from a car and a gas powered leaf blower.

Thanks to the catalytic converter and precise fuel injection, a car’s emission is cleaner. The 2 stroke (2 cycle) gas-powered back-pack leaf blower that gardeners use emit hundreds of times more pollution than a car.

Car 2 Stroke Leaf Blower

Unburned Hydrocarbons (HC) 0.05 10.0

Carbon Monoxide (CO) 3.4 200.0

Particulates (PM) 0.01 1.0

What We’ve Done

As an educational resource we provide the public with information and raise awareness about the serious health risks and environmental hazards associated with gas leaf blowers and related garden equipment.

Frequently spoke at the Infrastructure & Environment Committee (IEC) about noise and pollution and the significant impact from 2 cycle gas-powered leaf blowers on both our environment and the quality of life in our communities.
Deputed numerous times about the harmful noise from gas leaf blowers at the Noise Bylaw Review, Municipal Licensing & Standards, and the Economic & Community Development Committee.
Monitored and responded to City of Toronto initiatives that can help achieve our goal of banning the use of gas leaf blowers and related garden equipment.
Encouraged Councillors to pass a by-law banning the use of two-stroke gas-powered leaf blowers, so the landscape industry has time to transition.
Built broad public support for banning the use of gas leaf blowers.

What We Intend To Do

GASBUSTERS to encourage City Councillors to prioritize legislation- transitioning to ban the use of two -stroke, gas- powered leaf blowers.

CITY COUNCIL

The decision to transition to zero emissions outdoor power equipment was approved by City Council in July 2023 (2023.IE5.1 ), when Council expressed support for the ban “as a precaution against any adverse impacts to human health and climate. “
City Staff were instructed to carry out consultations and determine the resources needed to develop and enforce the ban and submit a report to the Infrastructure and Environment Committee in 2024
May 21, 2025 City Council made a decision to not ban the use of gas-powered leaf blowers.
“ City Council direct the Executive Director, Environment, Climate and Forestry to report back in 2027 on progress to transition City-owned equipment from two-stroke engine to electric, as well as an update on the communication campaign to encourage Toronto businesses and residents to choose quieter, zero emission equipment, with such report to include updated jurisdictional scan of other North American jurisdictions that are transitioning their internal operations to zero-emission outdoor power equipment or have enacted community restrictions or bans.”
TORONTO PUBLIC HEALTH
The core objective of Toronto Public Health is to reduce health inequities and improve the health status of Torontonians. The Medical Officer of Health should be a voice to champion the negative health consequences of noise pollution and harmful pollutants from gas-powered leaf blowers.
The carcinogenic benzene fumes, formaldehyde and fine particulate matter are linked to serious health problems such as respiratory and cardiovascular diseases. The vapours can cause leukemia and cancer in blood forming organs.
Recognizing how these pollutants contribute to broader environmental issues affecting air quality and public health, Toronto Public Health could recommend stiff restrictions to discourage their use.
In 2001 (24 years ago), Dr Sheela Basrur, Toronto Medical Officer, submitted a report to Council to prohibit gas-powered leaf blowers . It was not passed by City Council.
Gasbusters aims to persuade Dr Michelle Murti, Medical Officer of Health, to address this issue.

JOIN GASBUSTERS

As awareness of the health risks associated with gas-powered leaf blowers increases, GASBUSTERS relies on your support to grow its membership and strengthen its collective voice.

What You Can Do

Take Action to Support the Ban on Gas-Powered Leaf Blowers and Garden Equipment

Ontarians have never been subjected to so much toxic air from forest fires. It would be a wise decision for the government to restrict the use of leaf blowers when air pollution is in the danger zone. These inefficient machines pose serious health risks . According to a report from McGill University, degarding air quality in Canada contributes to 15,000 premature deaths annually.

Just think how much greater the health risk, and the subsequent cost to our healthcare system, when this equipment is operating on days of high smoke intensity.

Email your municipal councillor to show your support for transitioning away from gas-powered lawn equipment.

CC, Mayor Chow at mayor_chow@toronto.ca and urge her to support a bylaw

.

Talk to your neighbours and community members. Raise awareness and encourage local engagement.

Share our 2-page handout (see Resources) to help educate others about the benefits of the ban.
Spread the word to your family, friends, and others who care about clean air and quieter neighbourhoods

We encourage all constituents to use their voice to fight for Toronto and improve the quality of life.
Join our campaign and be part of a growing movement working toward a healthier, more sustainable Toronto.
We’ll keep you updated on progress and let you know how to make your voice heard at City Hall.

. You elect city councillors to represent your interests. As a resident of Toronto your voice is powerful.

Join Gasbusters

Change how you care for your lawn

Reconsider your landscaping choices. Clearing the fallen leaves with a leaf blower sweeps away prime habitat for a lot of creatures and also disrupts the habitats for critical pollinating species such as bees, butterflies and moths, as well as other critters including amphibians and small mammals like chipmunks.

When you minimize your lawn, add more garden beds and let the leaves lie where they fall, there’s a lot less need to use leaf blowers.

Talk to your landscaper or property manager about changing landscaping methods

Hire lawn care services that use battery-powered lawn care equipment. If you are renting, talk to your property manager about switching from loud gas leaf blowers.

Tell your Councillor you want gas-powered leaf blowers banned

Gasbusters Organizing Committee

John Watt

John Watt is a fourth-generation Torontonian, living with his family in Deer Park.
John has a passion for the environment and the health and safety of our community. His inspiration is Fred Rogers, host of the children's television show ‘Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood.’ John believes, like Fred Rogers, that each one of us has something valuable to bring to their neighbourhood, something that connects them as neighbours.
John joined Dundee Staunton, his neighbour, in starting the "Gasbusters" campaign, aimed at supporting the ban of 2-stroke gasoline-powered gardening equipment in Toronto and eliminating the damaging effects on our health and the environment.
Recently, John received the "Outstanding Neighbour Award" and a Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee pin for his work with Gasbusters, recognized for his efforts in fighting climate change and noise pollution to make the lives of neighbours and the community better. "Won't You be My Neighbour"?
Dundee Staunton

Dundee Staunton is a retired entrepreneur who lives in the Deer Park neighbourhood of Toronto.
Dundee is a Director, Decision Point Research Inc., an international market research firm, Vice-Chair, The Mosaic Institute, a charity which equips communities with tools to dismantle prejudice, and Chapter Chair, Innovators Alliance, a not-for-profit organization that assists CEOs of Ontario-based companies to integrate innovation into their strategic plans.
An advocate of action to improve our environment and living conditions, in 2020 he co-founded Gasbusters with friend and neighbour John Watt to rally residents to work towards a ban of gas-powered leaf blowers because of their noise-producing and polluting properties.
Harold Smith, B. Arch, MBA, LEED AP

Harold Smith is a retired architect with a strong interest in ecological sustainability.
He passionately advocates for a quieter and more sustainable Toronto and the preservation and protection of Ontario’s natural spaces including the Greenbelt.
Harold is a director of the Lytton Park Residents Organization, past Co-President of the North American Native Plant Society, Life Member of the Bruce Trail Conservancy and member of the Field Botanists of Ontario.
Harold is also deeply committed to a number of other activist organizations including the Toronto Noise Coalition, Cycle Toronto and SCAN,
He enjoys native plant gardening, protecting pollinators, hiking, and playing violin.
Gail Bebee (retired)

Gail Bebee believes in volunteering to help make her community a great place to live.
She has served as President of the Bayview Village Association, her local residents’ association, and is currently a member of the Environment Committee.
Gail is an avid gardener. She has served as President of the North York Garden Club, a volunteer organization that promotes the love of gardening. She is a member of Toronto Master Gardeners and enjoys volunteering her time to provide advice to home gardeners in the Toronto area.
Gail’s science and engineering background - B.Sc. (Honours Biology), M.Eng. (Environmental Engineering), Certified Industrial Hygienist – provides a strong foundation for critically assessing the environment, health, and safety implications of gas-powered lawn care equipment. She is volunteering with Gasbusters because she believes that stopping the harm caused by gas powered leaf blowers and other garden equipment will significantly improve the health of our local environment including the plants, animals and people who live here.
Chris Keating

Chris Keating was the founder of Keating Educational Tours and Breakaway Ski Tours.
With his son, he is the owner of Hotel du Vieux Quebec, Quebec City. The hotel has been awarded 5/5 Green Keys from the Hotel Association of Canada’s environmental Green Key Leaf Eco-Rating Program each year since 2009.
He has held various positions on the board of the Deer Park Residents Group. He was Chair of the Noise and Pollution Action Committee, and the Heritage Committee.
In 2019 he heard Monty McDonald speak on CBC’s Sunday Edition about the dangers of gas-powered leaf blowers and immediately wanted to become involved. He brought together Monty McDonald, Harold Smith with Gasbusters John Watt and Dundee Staunton.
Monty McDonald P. Eng, MBA (retired)

Monty , retired Chemical Engineer, lives in Bayview Village. He had extensive experience in the Petrochemical Industry when many chemicals used and produced were carcinogens. This necessitated complete and costly reengineering of manufacturing and distribution operations to ensure plant workers and the public were not exposed to them. This influenced his role as Chair of The Bayview Village Environment Committee, partnering with Canadian Tire to encourage residents to exchange highly polluting Two Cycle lawn and garden equipment for clean running alternatives. He also teamed up with early Gasbusters in 2019 to encourage Councillor Shelley Carroll to present her first Member’s Motion to ban gas-powered leaf blowers in Toronto..
Monty founded a not-for-profit company of volunteers (Vimy Oaks Legacy) repatriating descendant trees from acorns gathered in WW1 at Vimy Ridge by a Canadian soldier and planted on his Scarborough farm. In 2018 one hundred and twenty trees were planted back on the Vimy Battlefield in a Centennial Park beside the Canadian Memorial.