The BSR is deployed in so-called “group complexes”. There are over 1000 leaf blowers and around 100 leaf vacuums Photo: BSR
By Oliver Ohmann
The leaves are falling quietly, but the BSR is blowing loudly. The city cleaning department is now in full use of leaf blowers. This gets on the nerves and ears of many Berliners.
The facts: In autumn, 36,000 tons of leaves fall from street trees. The BSR has to collect the leaves and is on the road with 2,300 colleagues and 550 vehicles. Sweepers and brooms are used – and more than 1,000 leaf blowers.
“We currently have around 1,130 leaf blowers. Of these, 840 are petrol-powered and 290 are electrically powered,” explains a BSR spokesman. “We have significantly increased the number of our electric-powered cordless leaf blowers over the past few years, but the cordless blowers cannot completely replace the gasoline-powered ones due to their lower performance.“
Thomas Anker (39), landscape manager from Marzahn: “The operation is okay. The puffers can be used to dispose of a lot of leaves in a short time. Often much more thorough than with a broom.” Photo: Sven Meissner
The main argument for use according to BSR: the risk of injury from leaves. The spokesman: “Leaf blowers are indispensable work tools for us, especially with a view to road safety. This is all the more true because leaf blowers remove a lot of leaves in a short time: wet leaves are a disastrous slipping trap – older people are particularly at risk here.
Roswitha Frank (62) from Charlottenburg: “For ecological reasons, I think it makes little sense to blow leaves through the air with an electric or gasoline motor. So instead of using a machine, it’s better to use a broom and shovel.” Photo: Sven Meissner
Conservationists see things completely differently. The BUND criticizes: At 100 decibels, leaf blowers are as noisy as a jackhammer. They also generate exhaust gases and fine dust and damage small creatures close to the ground.
However, the BSR must ensure safety on streets and sidewalks. The spokesman emphasizes: “The BSR does a lot to keep the side effects of leaf blowers as low as possible: in dry weather, for example, we do not use leaf blowers at all in order to minimize fine dust pollution.”
Claudia Chudobu (33) is a garden helper and says: “How are our colleagues from BSR supposed to do it without the leaf blowers? It’s okay for them to be deployed.” Photo: Sven Meissner
And he emphasizes: “We also generally only use leaf blowers from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., although the law allows it from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.“