GARDENERS ASKED TO MEASURE PETROL TOOL IMPACT

Challenge 2025, the campaign led by battery-powered gardening equipment manufacturer Ego Power Plus, which aims to encourage the adoption of battery-powered tools and move both domestic and professional users away from petrol, has launched the first emissions calculator for gardeners.

In a statement Challenge 2025 said, "While petrol-powered tools have been a familiar fixture for decades, the emissions they produce have largely gone unnoticed. There has been a lack of regulation around petrol-powered outdoor power equipment, with no requirement for manufacturers to test equipment or publish emissions results - something which is a basic requirement in sectors such as the car industry.

"Now, through Challenge 2025, emissions tests have been carried out on some of the UK’s most popular petrol-powered tools for the first time, with common tools shown to produce up to 11x more toxic emissions than cars. With the findings plugged into the new emissions calculator, users can estimate the emissions attributed to their garden tools by inputting their average usage times."

The campaign describe their new emissions calculator as the first of its kind dedicated exclusively to users of petrol-powered garden equipment.

The company's statement continued, "Through supporting domestic and professional gardeners to understand the true impact of petrol tool usage, Challenge 2025 hopes to encourage people to seriously consider battery-powered alternatives moving forward. As highlighted by the recent IPCC report on climate change, it is human activities which are the source of the problem and shifts in everyday behaviour could limit further damage."

Emma Gayler, Ego’s ambassador for Challenge 2025, says: “To create this calculator, we had to start from scratch because there had previously been no emissions testing of petrol-powered tools. So, we surveyed thousands of professional and domestic users and asked councils up and down the country which tools they own and use. From this, we established the most popular petrol tools and put them to the test.

“Because these tools are so freely available, it’s easy to think that they’re perfectly safe to use, but emissions test results suggest that’s not always the case. Some tools produce such high volumes of emissions that testing equipment designed for cars cannot measure it, which means users could be using petrol tools and unknowingly impacting their health and that of those around them, as well as causing damage to the environment.

“The results from these tests were alarming, but by making them accessible through our new emissions calculator, we believe it will help both domestic and professional users to make more informed decisions when it comes to buying their next piece of equipment. By making the switch from petrol to battery, people can reduce their environmental impact without having to compromise on power and performance.”