As of late September 2026, the heat has finally eased enough here in Riverside that the yard work I put off all summer is back on my list, and my gas push mower is on its last legs. My plan, same as every time before, was simple: when it dies, buy another one just like it. Here in California, I figured the gas mower aisle would always be there.
The regional air district already has a different plan for that mower. South Coast AQMD’s residential rebate program says residents can receive a rebate of up to $250 toward new battery-powered lawn mowers, leaf blowers, chainsaws and trimmers. To qualify, you buy the new battery equipment and turn in a working, like-for-like gas machine to an approved dismantler for permanent destruction.
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What the California Air Resources Board says
California law set this in motion. It required CARB, by July 1, 2022, to adopt regulations to prohibit engine exhaust and evaporative emissions from new small off-road engines, and it said those regulations must apply to engines produced on or after January 1, 2024, or as soon as CARB determines is feasible, whichever is later…