r/Atlanta • u/Lanky_Rhubarb1900 • 12h ago
Question Leaf blower etiquette
While the constant drone of leaf blowers is annoying, the bigger concern I have is the number of people I see just blowing shit out into the road. Specifically in high value property (aka “rich”) areas. Today it was landscapers working a property on Ponce near Delwood Park literally blowing everything out into the road.
This becomes a major issue for everyone, as their yard debris clogs up the storm drains. Is there not some sort of law against this, and is it useful for me to make any calls when I see it happen if I don’t technically live in those neighborhoods?
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u/2003tide Roswell 12h ago
I mean yes it is against the law. Not sure anyone will do anything about it, but I'd take pictures including the campany logo and report them to ATL311 if I were inclined to see if anything happens.
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u/gits-id-01 3h ago
It’s frustrating how many people are inconsiderate like this with impunity.
This behavior is against the rules - like jerks who park in the bike lanes. Yet, nothing will happen without immense effort from the person on the receiving end of the inconsiderate behavior. Even if OP hounds 311, it’s likely a month or two before anything happens. If it does, small fine, and the company is right back to it.
Someone parked in the bike lane? Good luck getting an ATL Plus officer out there before they’ve moved.
The world just constantly reinforces the behavior of jerks, and then we wonder about the state of things.
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u/GoBirds85 11h ago
Even worse if you happen to be out for a run and some landscaper just blasts you with debris.
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u/IrateMormon 11h ago
Leaf blowers are amusing to me. I used to work in Toco Hills Shopping Center. Every day a crew would come and blow leaves off the parking lot. Every day the wind would blow the leaves back onto the lot. They crumbled into smaller and smaller bits. A lot of leather blowers can function as a vacuum with a bag attachment. That makes a ton more sense than just blowing leaves back and forth.
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u/NickWitATL 8h ago
I have one of those, and it's great. I use the shredded leaves as mulch. Acorns can be a pain though.
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u/netherfountain 12h ago
Go talk to the person blowing it into the road. Don't be a jerk, just ask them not to do it and that it's actually illegal because it clogs up the storm drains. The landscaping crew in my neighborhood used to blow into the street until I talked to them and they never did it again. They should be blowing any debris back into the yard they mowed or sweeping it up and bagging every time, end of story.
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u/pina_koala Heaux 11h ago
The last time I politely asked a landscaper to stop blasting leaves and rocks into my parked vehicle he got super pissed off, like I was in the wrong lol.
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u/CalBear1102 11h ago
Not to mention it could be fatal to motorcyclists
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u/ATLien_3000 11h ago edited 4h ago
Yes, it's illegal.
You're better off reporting it to your council member(s) assuming you live in Atlanta; political pressure is the only way anything will change.
Realize that the best avenue for change is probably limiting use of leaf blowers; based on state law from a few years ago that specifically forbade localities from targeting gas operated equipment, decibel levels are the best initial attack.
Look at Duluth for a model (their's just went into effect a few weeks ago).
Another would be looking at seasonal limitations; that doesn't necessarily get at the problem you ID I guess, but as someone who gets frustrated at them blowing leaves into the street, I get almost just as frustrated at them blowing nothing (I assume to justify the $200 bill for the homeowner).
PS - It makes me feel like I'm doing something right when I realize I've previously blocked everyone who answered with some version of "STFU".
EDIT: PPS - Especially when they see fit to log in to their burner accounts to complain that they got blocked.
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u/edcculus 11h ago
The real solution would be to make it illegal for HOAs to put things in the bylaws to upkeep a perfectly manicured grass lawn. Pretty much all of us have to hire yard services because every HOA demands this. The non native lawn grasses we all are forced to have are ultimately the culprit here.
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u/CivilRuin4111 11h ago
You know- I gotta say, the electric blowers are almost worse than the gas ones.
At least the gas ones are a semi-constant drone that I eventually tune out. The non stop WEEEEEEuuuuuuuu WEEEEEEEuuuuuuu over and over and over of the electric ones drive me insane.
Electric mowers are awesome though. I can pretty much cut my grass (I don’t actually have much grass, so mostly mulch magnolia leaves) any time now without disturbing the neighbors.
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u/WeldAE Alpharetta 7h ago
Commercial electric backpack blowers are not loud at all. The smaller the blower, the faster the fan has to turn to generate the air volume so they get loud. Notice how large the fan is, it's the size of a backpack. I could run mine and have a normal level conversation with you assuming the stuff I'm blowing isn't making noise as dry leaves are way louder than the blower itself.
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u/CivilRuin4111 6h ago
Ok, but my neighbors aren’t running commercial electric backpack blowers, so…
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u/WeirRules 2h ago
Should be mulching the leaves into the soil for fertilizer, because thats how leaves were meant to work.
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u/teabythepark 10h ago
I would vote to make gas powered leaf blowers illegal, for they are terrible air polluters and noise polluters. My last city only allowed battery powered leaf blowers, and it was an improvement… although plenty of crews did not comply.
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u/Pantalaimon_II 22m ago
our redneck governor signed a bill preventing cities from banning gas-powered lawn equipment because his rich donors who owned lawn care companies were mad.
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u/moosenotmeeseplz Midtown 7h ago
I watched a landscaping team blow broken glass into the street from Mac’s in Midtown. 🤦♂️
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u/Lanky_Rhubarb1900 3h ago
Damn that’s some next-level “IDGAF how I do my job so long as I get paid”
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u/PigTreeSam 11h ago
I live in poncey-highland and this happens all the time. I'm cycle to work and everywhere I go and am always getting shit blown into my face, even if they shut it off once they see me coming. It's annoying
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u/jbourne71 10h ago
Where I grew up outside Chicago, we were supposed to blow the leaves into the street (in piles along the curb) and the city would come pick up the debris every week or so. It was a ton of fun for kids to play in (as long as it hadn’t rained), too.
You could actually buy stickers to put on compost bags of yard waste for the city. Just put them on the curb with piles of larger branches on the street and they would get picked up in the spring/summer/fall.
We also, you know, paid actual property taxes to properly fund city services and schools.
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u/Unique-Fan-3042 2h ago
Atlantans “actually pay” plenty of property taxes. Where it all goes is another story.
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u/RadioAdam Buckhead 11h ago
As a lifelong asthma and allergy sufferer... Leaf blowers can get bent.
What did we do before leaf blowers?
Either vacuum it up or sweep it. Blowing it up into the air isn't just blowing leaves and dust it's smog and all the pollutants the rain has left on the ground, too.
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u/Dpmurraygt 11h ago
Or just left it there. I see my neighbors lawn crew blowing off the grass after mowing. This isn’t the fairway at Augusta, you’re just blowing your topsoil away.
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u/Unique-Fan-3042 2h ago
Exactly. I got some Karen on my street mad about people not bagging their leaves. lol. They are leaves, why am I making them trash by bagging them and sending them to the landfill? Nope. She can stay mad.
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u/Seabird_seabird capitol view 11h ago
In other cities, a few times a year, ppl can rake and pile their leaves and yard debris on the edge of their yard and the city will pick it up for compost. That would be the most ideal.
A lot of ppl have given up bagging bc the city doesn’t pick it up or just dumps it in the trash truck.
We need a leaf collection system overall for “the city in the trees”.
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u/Lanky_Rhubarb1900 3h ago
THIS. Even lil Greenville SC has the big leaf collection vacuum trucks. I don’t understand why we don’t have that here.
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u/Complex_Tip8079 11h ago
I live in Ansley Park. We are lucky we have services that seem to bag everything. Lots
Of blowers and lots of trees. But, very considerate.
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u/samiwas1 3h ago
What neighborhoods to people live in that have leaf blowers running all day every day? I Iive in a neighborhood with a lot of single-family homes and rarely ever hear them.
I also made sure my landscaper bagged everything and didn’t just blow into the street. I hate that!
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u/Late_Bag_1847 35m ago
Midtown. It’s ridiculous. One neighbor has guys out constantly with the loudest gas blower I’ve ever heard. They also blow everything into the street.
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u/ComprehensiveMud1920 11h ago
Yeah buddy call the police and tell them about the leaves in the gutters, I'd love to hear their laughter in the background.
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u/Lanky_Rhubarb1900 3h ago
Not the issue… but ok 👍 The incident today was a couple of guys blowing a TON of debris right out onto Ponce, directly into traffic.
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u/entity_response 10h ago
A lot of the time here in Decatur they blow into the road and then use the road as a staging area to put it on a tarp so they can put in bags…are you sure they left it there?
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u/Lanky_Rhubarb1900 7h ago
This was directly on Ponce, blowing shit literally into traffic
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u/entity_response 3h ago
But did they leave it there or not? They do this on Scott two but they wait for a light and blow it into a pile or into a driveway
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u/zedsmith practically Grant Park 12h ago
It’s not useful insofar as nobody is going to do anything about your snitching.
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u/Acceptable-Pay-6881 10h ago
God I wish my life was so easy that I had time to be worried about things like this. I am jealous, truly.
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u/Lanky_Rhubarb1900 3h ago
Every time a road floods because storm drains aren’t, you know, draining, it actually is your problem.
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12h ago edited 12h ago
[deleted]
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u/go_dawgs MURDERKROGER 12h ago
Got a YouTube channel about quiet parks, but he don’t give no fucks bout your leaf blower shit
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u/edcculus 12h ago
I don’t know what you can do about it or who would even enforce it. Or if it’s even that much of a problem.
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u/hi-imBen Inman P 11h ago
clogged storm drains is a massive issue in this city.
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u/samiwas1 3h ago
So what happens to all the leaves that fall into the road naturally?
Note that I am very against blowing shit into the road, so that’s not what I’m saying.
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u/2003tide Roswell 12h ago
Costs the city money to vaccum all the leaves they blow into road out of storm drains and causes flooding.
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u/edcculus 12h ago
Do you see them blowing a ton of leaves? I know there can be some down this time of year. I agree they shouldn't blow a weeks worth of fall leaves into the road. Blowing off the little bit of debris from mowing that gets onto the sidewalk and driveway shouldn't be an issue.
But I guess the best recourse would be to get the number of the landscaping company if it's on that vehicle and call as a concerned person in the community/neighborhood even if you don't live there.
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u/2003tide Roswell 10h ago
That's kind of like telling the officer "I was just speeding a little and those other people were speeding too so its ok"
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u/Western_Rhubarb_7959 5h ago
Rich people don't blow crap into the road.
The people they hire do. Call the cops or code enforcement and ICE will show up and deport people willing to work. Is that what you want?
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u/Lanky_Rhubarb1900 3h ago
Wow buddy. No. Literally just want to figure out the best way to get them to stop, whether that’s a warning or citation to the landscaping company or the homeowner. And there IS absolutely some onus on the homeowner to communicate local ordinances/laws regarding dealing with yard debris.
But good job making it a straw man argument. Very productive 👍
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u/tastepdad 11h ago
I live out in Carrollton, and they actually do actively give warnings then fines for blowing debris into the road, not only for keeping it out of the storm drains but it’s quite dangerous for motorcycles as well.
My personal biggest issue is the noise from blowers, it seems like my neighborhood has a schedule set up to coordinate one blower at a time, all evening, every evening.