Local landscaping company is cutting lawns without a drop of gas

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- When Alex Schick makes his approach, the lawn gets lower, and so does the volume.

"Number one benefit: It's quieter," he said.

But the benefits from Going Green Gardening don't stop there.

"It's cleaner. A lot of our customers like to leave their windows open, especially in the fall and spring," he said. "They don't have the gas smell from the blowers and mowers going into their house."

There's no gas smell because there's no gas.

"We have our mowers, our edgers, our weedeaters, our blowers, chainsaw, hedge trimmers - it's all electric, so we do everything without a drop of gas," Schick said.

The landscaper's trailer is covered with solar panels.

Its door is lined with batteries, and it's filled with electric-powered equipment designed to cut down on noise and pollution.

Those gas-powered leaf blowers, hedge trimmers, and mowers are about to pass cars as the worst air polluters in California, spewing out formaldehyde, benzene and particulate matter.

The California Air Resources Board predicts they'll be the single biggest ozone polluter in the state by next year.

Schick started his business two years ago and says it's making a big impact on the environment.

"One hour of running a standard lawnmower is equal to 11 new cars idling for one hour," he said.

The initial startup cost was pretty high, but overhead is minimal now, so his prices can be competitive.

He says business has been good enough to hire a couple of new employees this year. He is hoping to make enough green to hire a couple more before the year is over.