Who is more environmentally-friendly?

Who’s cuter?

Who cuts better?

These are a few of the questions that one must confront when selecting the best lawn care option. Just in time for Labor Day (because I know there are enough of you where three-day weekend actually translates into “yard work” rather than “party time”), I thought I’d feature two of the best and most fun sustainable lawn care options out there.

You think I’m kidding about the goats, but I’m not. This free-for-all-green-eater has been employed by the Maryland Department of Transportation, Bayer Health, Google Corporate Offices, and other organizations as means to mow their lawn. In addition to their binge-eating habits that clear out all unwanted weeds and brush, goats fertilize the soil with their- ehm, well you know – and aerate the earth by padding around on their hooves.  The cost of hiring these furry friends usually works out to be the same price as a professional lawn care service and it comes with extra perks. Not only are goats more environmentally-friendly, their bleating banter is significantly more endearing than the blaring of a lawnmower.

However, if you don’t have the finances or the yard space to rent your own herd, don’t let it get your goat (ha!) LEHR, a lead innovator in environmentally friendly lawn care equipment provides an Eco-Trimmer that was a recipient of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Air Excellence Award earlier this year.  The LEHR Eco-Trimmer is run on a 16 oz. propane can made of 100% recyclable steel and is now on sale at your local Ace, Home Depot, TruValu, etc. for around $199 under the Craftsmen brand. As CEO and Founder Bernardo Herzer explains in this  video (pardon the infomercial nature, they mean well), a propane-run weed trimmer is more sustainable than a gasoline power for numerous reasons: propane costs less, it has zero evaporative emissions and no ozone depleting hydrocarbons, propane is non-toxic to ground water and soil and it possesses 97% fewer particulates and 96% fewer carcinogens than gasoline. LEHR’s Eco-Trimmer also surpasses emissions standard for carbon monoxide by 75%.

I find myself nodding my head in agreement with Herzer’s argument of how much gasoline is lost in the transfer process and the hassle behind running to the gas station when you run out of fuel, but propane is likely only going to become more convenient to consumers if they stock up on propane canisters (run time is only 2 hours) and the recycling process is made easy. We’re habit forming creatures, but fortunately, propane is a medium we’re already familiar with so it might not be that hard to modify our lawn care methods.

Personally, I’m a sucker for the goats (you’ll most def. find me at the petting zoo this Labor Day weekend!), but LEHR’s Eco-Trimmer takes a close second. Here’s to kicking it green this holiday.

LEHR is dedicated to a cleaner planet through environmentally friendly technology.

• Organizatio n Type: For-Profit
• Website: http://www.golehr.com/index.shtml
• Founder(s): Bernardo Herzer
• Founded: 2007
• Location: Los Angeles, CA
• See complete company list here

Contributor Profile: Ashley

Ashley is a friend of anyone who is fighting the good fight for social change. She currently resides in Bilbao, Spain where she is teaching English and researching the history of the Basque conflict. Personal blog
Twitter: @socialearth

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