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Vancouver Park Board commissioner wants battery-powered landscaping equipment

The Vancouver Park Board wants battery powered equipment to be used in the city. Cora MacDonald / Global News

A Vancouver Park Board commissioner is bringing a motion to the board next week he hopes will result in a switch to emissions-free landscaping equipment.

Commissioner Dave Demers wants staff to develop a transition plan to switch from gas-powered equipment to environmentally friendly alternatives, and he says the pollution caused by the current equipment is astonishing.

Along with being bad for the environment, Demers says the current equipment poses health risks for the staff that operate them.

“There’s one thing I think we downplay quite a bit is actually the noise factor. The gas-powered equipment is exceptionally noisy and it’s also the vibration — it’s quite damaging to staff using that gas-powered equipment for any long period of time. So there’s the pollution, there’s the noise, there’s the vibration.”

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Demers says a switch to battery-powered equipment will cost a little more upfront but fix those problems and the money the city will save in gasoline will pay for the investment in a couple of years.

Demers will introduce his motion to the park board on Monday.

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