Item - 2025.IE21.4

The Executive Director, Environment, Climate and Forestry recommends that City Council adopt one of the following options.

Option A - Lead by example in the corporation and focus on community education

1. City Council express its continued support for the transition of City of Toronto owned gas-powered small engine equipment to zero-emission outdoor power equipment.

2. City Council express its continued support for the public promotion of the appropriate use of small engine equipment and sustainable yard care practices to encourage the transition to zero-emission outdoor power equipment by residents and businesses.

3. City Council request the Mayor to include the necessary funding for Recommendations 1 and 2 above, through future budget allocations as described in the Financial Impact Section of this report.

4. City Council direct the City Manager and their designates to indefinitely suspend further consideration and / or engagement on a ban on the use of two-stroke engine equipment in Toronto.

Option B - Pursue a ban on the use of two-stroke engine equipment

5. City Council ban the use of two-stroke engine equipment without limitation as a precaution against adverse impacts to human health and climate, and:

a. Implement the ban based on the approach described in Attachment 1 to this report.

b. Direct appropriate City staff to develop a schedule that lists the banned makes and models of equipment and update the schedule of banned equipment annually, as needed.

6. City Council authorize the City Solicitor to prepare and introduce a Bill in Council in the form or substantially in the form of the ban outlined in Attachment 1 to this report.

7. City Council express its continued support for the transition of City of Toronto owned gas-powered small engine equipment to zero-emission outdoor power equipment.

8. City Council express its continued support for the public promotion of the appropriate use of small engine equipment and sustainable yard care practices to encourage the transition to zero-emission outdoor power equipment.

9. City Council request the Mayor to include the necessary funding for Recommendations 5 to 8 above through future budget allocations as described in the Financial Impact section of this report.

City Council has considered the issue of two-stroke engine use periodically over the past 25 years. Most recently, in July 2023 (2023.IE5.1), City staff brought forward a report that identified the potential negative impacts of two-stroke engine equipment on climate, health and noise and found that individually these impacts did not provide sufficient rationale for action to be taken to ban the use of two-stroke engines.

Staff identified two potential options to proceed and City Council chose to express its support for a ban on the use of gas-powered two-stroke engine equipment, such as leaf blowers and hedge trimmers, as a precaution against the cumulative adverse impacts to human health and climate from noise and air pollution. Staff were directed to identify the resources required to develop and implement a ban on use of two-stroke engine equipment and report back to the Infrastructure and Environment Committee. This report responds to Council's direction and also incorporates information on actions that need to be undertaken by the City to show leadership in the transition towards zero-emission outdoor power equipment.

The approach to implementing a ban and next steps outlined in this report, should the City choose to proceed, are informed by the results of stakeholder consultations, a jurisdictional scan, an equipment assessment and market analysis, along with a corporate asset assessment and analysis, which are summarized in the Comments Section and detailed in the Attachments 1 through 4. 

Given the information detailed in this report, including the resources required to implement a ban, two options are presented for Council consideration, similar to the approach taken in the July 2023 report.  

The resource requirements identified above do not include costs associated with transitioning gas-powered City equipment to zero emission alternatives, as the City has already committed to undertaking this transition under the TransformTO Net Zero Strategy.

As part of this commitment, City Council requested Parks and Recreation, and Environment, Climate and Forestry in 2022 (2022.EC31.4) to develop a plan to phase-out gas-powered equipment. Previously, in 2021 (2021 IE25.21), Council requested Parks and Recreation, Transportation Services and Fleet Services to develop a transition plan and determine feasibility of phasing out gas-powered leaf blowers. In response to these directions the pathway for a corporate transition plan is presented in this report. 

The pathway includes an analysis of the City's small engine equipment inventory to determine replacement timelines, electricity and charging capacity needs. Any electricity and charging capacity assessments and retrofits will be coordinated with related activities across the relevant Divisions, Agencies, and Corporations, and locations to ensure retrofits are completed efficiently, reducing cost and disruptions. Final costs for the corporate transition will need to be factored into future capital budgets of affected Divisions, Agencies, and Corporations, with the scope and scale to be determined. The corporate transition plan presented is aligned with the timeline of the proposed ban and will proceed regardless of the Option chosen by Council. If Option A is chosen the corporate transition plan timeline can be extended based on operational or budget needs.

There are no immediate financial implications resulting from this report. A cost estimate is provided below for each of the two options. The costs associated with the corporate transition are presented separately as they will be carried out regardless of the option Council endorses. The estimated costs are listed at 2025 rates.

The implementation of Option A and Option B are subject to securing the necessary funding.

Option A

The total estimated costs associated with Option A are $200,000 over five years, as listed below in Table 1. This would fund an annual outreach campaign to encourage sustainable lawn care practices and the use of zero-emission outdoor power equipment, with efforts to align and amplify other related nature-based campaigns. Costs for outreach campaigns are to be determined but estimated to be $25,000 annually. The continuation of the campaign would be assessed in 2030.

Option B

The total estimated costs associated with Option B are listed in Table 1. During start-up and program development (2026 to 2030), the cost would be $2,880,000. Starting in 2031, the cost would be $675,000 annually. Cost estimates are provided as a conservative rough estimate and include promotion, education and outreach, supports for residents and businesses, along with program administration and enforcement costs. The actual financial impacts related to the proposed ban will be considered as part of future budgets of the relevant Division, Agency, and Corporation.

Table 1 - Estimated cost for Options A and B (in 2025 rates).

* For estimation purposes only, actual costs required for enforcement will be brought forward in a future budget request.

Corporate transition

A ban on gas-powered small engine equipment, as part of the City's Net Zero Strategy, would incur no additional costs beyond what is already planned for the corporate transition. The primary expenses will arise from acquiring new battery-powered equipment and storage facility retrofits which will cause an increase in state of good repair budget demands for Divisions and be addressed through the Carbon Budget process.

To accommodate the charging needs of zero-emission outdoor power equipment that use rechargeable batteries, certain equipment storage sites may need electrical capacity assessments, thus requiring consultancy services. The extent and cost of these assessments and any required upgrades remain uncertain and will be requested by the relevant Division, Agency, and Corporation as part of future budget submissions. As is stated in the Carbon Budget process, Environment, Climate and Forestry, and Financial Planning will assist relevant City Divisions, Agencies, and Corporations in developing estimates of Greenhouse Gas reduction and financial impacts of proposed new or enhanced Greenhouse Gas reduction actions, such as transitioning to zero-emission outdoor power equipment.

The Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer has reviewed this report and agrees with the financial impact information.