Waynesville celebrates purchase of electric lawnmower
Michael Noland, Outdoor Maintenance supervisor for Town of Waynesville Parks and Recreation Department beside the town’s electric mower. Donated photo
The electric lawnmower the Town of Waynesville bought in 2024 is paying off, according to Outdoor Maintenance Supervisor Michael Noland.
At the time, the purchase kicked up some dust, with some residents arguing that the additional expense of buying an electric mower instead of a traditional gas-powered lawn mower was wasted taxpayer money.
Indeed, when looking at point of sale price comparisons, the gas-powered version was less expensive. However, when looking at the cost to buy, use and maintain the mower, the town will offset the additional expense within 21 months of initial use and save $5,800 annually thereafter.
The electric Stihl mower does not use the 20-25 gallons of fuel each week that the gas one would have used, nor does it require oil and filter changes.
“We only have to sharpen the blades, maintain the tires and lube four grease fittings, and that’s it. It plugs into a standard 110 outlet and charges fully overnight,” Noland said, adding that staff hasn’t used the mower any differently and it’s still held up.
“We don’t baby this mower,” he said, adding that he’d like to replace two older gas-powered one still owned by the town with electric models, although that’s not in the budget at this point.
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The Parks and Recreation Department also uses all electric equipment for maintaining the grounds at the Waynesville Armory, including an electric walk behind self-propelled mower, an electric leaf blower and a trimmer.
According to a release sent out by the Waynesville Environmental Action Community, benefits of electric outdoor power equipment include less noise pollution and zero emissions.
In 2020, gas-powered lawn equipment was responsible for releasing 21,800 tons of PM2.5, an amount of pollution comparable to the emission from 234 million typical cars in one year.
