Fairfielder Aims To Make Grass Even Greener

Dan Delventhal signs his emails “Dan QuiMOWte,” a play on the title character from the classic novel by Miguel de Cervantes. The nickname is apt because Delventhal, like Don Quixote, is on a quest to take down machines with loud, spinning blades. But the Fairfielder’s enemies aren’t windmills — they’re lawnmowers.

“Lawn care in the U.S. causes over 5 percent of our air pollution," according to the Environmental Protection Agency, Delventhal says. “They burn so inefficiently. The engines of a lawnmower burning a gallon of gas is 20 to 30 times more polluting than burning gas in a car.”

Delventhal is the founder of MowGreen, a landscaping company that doubles as an advocacy group. His mission? To persuade people to ditch gasoline-powered rotary lawnmowers and switch back to what many would think is a dead technology: the human-powered reel mower.

MowGreen’s 40 clients get the usual services offered by landscapers: lawn moving, hedge trimming, edging, weeding and removing leaves. But MowGreen’s crews take care of all that work without leaving a carbon footprint. Along with the push mowers, Delventhal and his employees use trimmers and leaf blowers powered by lithium ion batteries and do the rest by hand.

Delventhal is quick to point out the advantages of reel mowers. They provide better exercise than a tractor, cause no pollution and are better for a lawn’s health because of their cutting motion.

“Use of a reel mower snips the grass, like scissors,” Delventhal says. “The rotary mower spin so fast, they tend to rip the grass.”

But he admits they’re not perfect. Mowing the old-fashioned way takes longer than using a gas-powered mower. Reel mowers cannot handle grass more than a few inches tall. But Delventhal devised a solution for taller grass. Unfortunately, it involves breaking out a dreaded rotary mower. But rather than use one powered with gasoline, he’s outfitted one to run on hydrogen fuel created by a solar panel.

Though MowGreen is a side business for Delventhal, he says it’s not about making profit. He says he’d like to see more people get rid of their lawns altogether, in favor of more home gardens. But for now, he’s happy to help homeowners find and get started with their own reel mowers — that way he can get gas-powered cutters out of use. He says, “We’re trying to set an example that you don’t have to pollute to do lawn care.”

Would you consider switching to a reel mower? Do you know of any other examples of little things people are doing to go green? Share your ideas in the comments below.

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