FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 8, 2009
Upstate lawn mower exchange program to be held
COLUMBIA – Dreading the thought of pushing that noisy, smelly, polluting gasoline lawnmower again this year? There is a better option available, the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control announced today.
“A lawnmower exchange program will be held again this year for residents in Anderson, Oconee, Pickens, Spartanburg, Greenville, Chester, York and Lancaster counties,” said Myra Reece, chief of DHEC’s Bureau of Air Quality. “This popular program will give residents the opportunity to drop off their gasoline-powered mower in exchange for a voucher to purchase a new, significantly discounted electric mower.”
The Upstate lawn mower exchanges will take place on the following Saturdays:
- April 18: 10 a.m.-1 p.m. at Clemson University’s Kite Hill Recycling Center for residents of Anderson, Oconee and Pickens counties.
- April 25: 9 a.m.- noon at the Suber Road Soccer Complex in Greer for residents of Spartanburg and Greenville counties.
- April 25: 10 a.m.-1 p.m. at the Museum of York County for residents of Chester, York and Lancaster counties.
“The lawnmower exchange is a great way for people to get involved in improving air quality by switching to a battery-powered mower,” Reece said. “Clean air is important. This partnership gives our citizens an opportunity to make a difference.”
Reece said that despite efficiency improvements in the motors, today’s gasoline mowers still contribute to the formation of ground-level ozone, which can be harmful to lungs and cause greenhouse gases to be released into the atmosphere. An electric mower has no such emissions and can operate for an hour on a single charge.
DHEC partnered with local governments and the Neuton Lawn Mower Company for the program. Funding for the lawn mower exchange program came from a $17,300 donation from the Duke Energy Foundation. According to Reece, participation has increased during each of the three years DHEC has coordinated the program.
For more information on lawn mower exchanges in your area, visit DHEC’s Web site at: http://www.scdhec.gov/lawnmowerexchange or contact Amy Curran at (803) 898-4297.
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For public inquiries:
Amy Curran – (803) 898-4297
E-mail – curranaa@dhec.sc.gov
For media inquiries:
Clair Boatwright – (803) 898-4461
E-mail – boatwrc@dhec.sc.gov
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