Tag Archive for: Clean

Aspen delivers a decade of clean power

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Aspen delivers a decade of clean power: From the very first demonstration, Graham Kenward of South East Forestry and Tree Services was sold on the health and safety benefits of Aspen Fuel.

More than a decade on, the firm still swears by Aspen Alkylate fuel for their suite of two-stroke equipment, delivering clean and convenient power to projects in confined spaces.

Aspen delivers a decade of clean power

Aspen delivers a decade of clean power

Founded by Graham in 1997, South East Forestry and Tree Services undertake the full breadth of tree surgery services for domestic and commercial customers across Surrey and Sussex. Powering much of that operation for the last 10 years has been Aspen Fuel. Graham takes up the story, “I learned about the product through a friend and arranged to have a demonstration of it. All I could say at the time was WOW!”

“It’s certainly not right, but as an arborist you almost just get used to getting home at the end of the day with bloodshot eyes and the smell of petrol over your clothes – particularly if you’ve been working in confined spaces. As soon as we started to use Aspen in our 2-stroke equipment, that all stopped immediately.” He continues, “Not only that but the shelf life of it is incredible. Depending on workload we might have equipment that’ll sit in the shed for two or three years untouched. If it’s got Aspen in the tank, it’ll start up at the first time of asking.”

99% cleaner than ordinary pump petrol in regards to levels of hazardous hydrocarbons, Aspen Fuel is virtually free from Ethanol, Aromatics and Benzene, bringing enhanced performance and a longer service life for all types of modern 2-stroke and 4-stroke engines. Together with extending engine life and reliability, the significantly fewer harmful and toxic hydrocarbons reduce the impact your equipment has on your health and the environment.

“You can’t put a price on your health and, when I factor in the further efficiencies and convenience brought about by having the Aspen delivered in 200L drums to site, we more than offset the additional cost of using Aspen in our chainsaws and other petrol-powered hand tools.”

For more information about Aspen 2 or Aspen 4, and to find your local stockist, visit www.aspenfuel.co.uk 

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STIGA Celebrates Clean Air Day With Battery Mowing

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STIGA Celebrates Clean Air Day With Battery Mowing: As the prose from our STIGA gardening poet fan above explains, mowing your lawn should be a pleasure not a chore, and this Clean Air Day which falls on 19th June offers the perfect chance to present to you STIGA’s battery mowers.

At STIGA, we’re all about greener gardens and cleaner air. That’s why our battery-powered lawn care range is at the heart of everything we do. Whether you’re snipping, clipping, or going full robo-mow, our cordless tools and mowers are designed to deliver powerful performance with a softer environmental footprint.

STIGA Celebrates Clean Air Day With Battery Mowing

STIGA Celebrates Clean Air Day With Battery Mowing

Why Go Battery?

Because clean air starts at home – or rather, in your garden. Our battery-powered mowers and tools are:

  • Quiet (in fact, our robot mowers are the only ones with a Quiet Mark!)
  • Clean – zero emissions, zero hassle
  • Efficient – smart tech that saves energy while you mow

From compact walk-behinds to futuristic autonomous mowers, STIGA’s battery range brings sustainable lawn care into the spotlight. Sustainable lawn care comes in many forms, but the one at the forefront for the STIGA team is that of their battery range of lawn and gardening products. The cleanliness, quietness and efficiency of all of their cordless mowers and gardening tools aim to bring a more sensible and sustainable approach to lawn and garden care.

Twinclip 950e VR Cordless Walk-Behind

Want stripes? Power? Brains? The Twinclip 950e VR delivers it all. With dual 7.5 Ah batteries and a beefy 2.2 kW motor, it’s self-propelled perfection. The double-layered blade boosts cut and collection, while the rear roller leaves behind a lawn to be proud of. RRP £1129: Twinclip 950e VR

Robot Mowers

Sit back, relax, and let the robots do the work. STIGA’s wire-guided and autonomous robot mowers deliver a pristine lawn without lifting a finger. With prices ranging from £999 to £6199, there’s a bot for every garden: Robot Mowers

Swift Ride-On Mower

Small but mighty, this 48V battery-powered ride-on is perfect for lawns up to 3000 m². Compact and agile with tight turning, Swift makes mowing feel like a breeze – all on a single charge. Sync it with the STIGA App for real-time tips and even smarter mowing. RRP £3249: Swift

Visit www.stiga.com/uk/ to learn more and enjoy a cleaner mow!

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Petrol-powered tools undermine clean air zone efforts

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Petrol-powered tools undermine clean air zone efforts: Despite the widespread introduction of clean air zones in cities across the UK, new research obtained through Freedom of Information requests shows that high-polluting petrol-powered tools are still predominantly used in many of these areas, compromising clean air commitments.

Local authorities including Birmingham City Council and several London boroughs are still operating 100% petrol-powered tools within their clean air zones – at a time when cars are under increased scrutiny where emissions are concerned. The widespread use of petrol-powered tools can compromise air quality in these areas, producing emissions comparable with some cars.

Petrol-powered tools undermine clean air zone efforts

Petrol-powered tools undermine clean air zone efforts

Petrol-powered tools – such as leaf blowers and hedge trimmers – are known to be just as, if not more, harmful to people and the environment. Emissions testing carried out by EGO Power+ and Millbrook found that some petrol-powered gardening tools are capable of emitting 11 times more carbon monoxide and four times more nitrogen oxide than a Ford Fiesta.

While the majority of tools being operated by local authorities are still petrol-powered, some councils are progressing towards a cleaner, greener future with the adoption of battery-powered tools.

London’s Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea is leading the way in its use of battery-powered outdoor equipment, accounting for 100% of its tools. Councils in Sheffield and London Brent are also making promising strides, with battery-powered equipment now accounting for 85% and 90% of tools respectively.

“The sustainability challenge is something that faces every local authority across the UK, and the removal of highly-polluting outdoor power equipment has a role to play,” says Vince Brauns, Product Director at EGO Power+. “By focussing our research on councils who have made clear commitments to sustainability through clean air zones, we were keen to understand if councils have recognised the negative impact of petrol-powered tools, and how much progress has been made on their journeys towards a greener, battery-powered future.

“While it’s encouraging to see a handful of councils have fully adopted battery power to maintain outdoor spaces, others still have a journey ahead of them. Birmingham City Council for instance still uses 100% petrol-power to maintain areas within the city’s Clean Air Zone, with the daily use of more than 60 tools emitting harmful emissions.

“Modern technology makes switching to battery power easier than ever, unlocking a series of benefits for councils and their maintenance professionals. Better still, transitioning to battery power can be done in an easy-to-manage and cost-effective manner, maximising council resources while supporting the drive towards cleaner air and greater levels of sustainability.”

The research, carried out by EGO Power+, saw Freedom of Information requests made to 40 local authorities operating Clean Air Zones – including individual London boroughs. As these zones are proving to be effective by reducing numbers of high-polluting vehicles, the research aimed to understand if harmful, high-emission outdoor power equipment was still being used in these areas to maintain public green spaces.

As one of the world’s leading suppliers of battery-powered grounds maintenance equipment, EGO Power+ has supported local authorities and businesses large and small to transition to battery power – sustainably and cost effectively. EGO’s technology adds social and environmental value while also driving down the total cost of ownership. For local authorities who face compliance and budgetary challenges, this offers a proven route to a sustainable and safer future.

The latest advice to government from the Climate Change Committee also recommends the phasing out of petrol and diesel lawnmowers in order to reduce emissions, with modern technology delivering petrol-matching power, without causing harm to the local environment through emissions and noise pollution.

Councils who have already adopted battery-powered maintenance equipment have unlocked a future that delivers improved comfort and safety to users, with tools that minimise noise and vibration.

To learn more visit: www.egopowerplus.co.uk/clean-air-zones

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Aspen provides clean, reliable power

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Aspen provides clean, reliable power: Three years after receiving the initial recommendation, the team at The Worcestershire Golf Club are continuing to discover the benefits of running their 2-stroke equipment on Aspen Fuel.

Course Manager Steve Lloyd explains how Aspen alkylate petrol is providing clean, reliable power for an array of high-output hand tools and claims that, since switching, the club have all-but eliminated costly carburettor issues and machinery downtime.

Aspen provides clean, reliable power

Aspen provides clean, reliable power

Nestled at the foot of the Malvern Hills, The Worcestershire is proudly one of England’s oldest golf clubs – offering the membership a challenging, mature parkland course. It was here, in the purchase of new backpack blowers for the momentous task of leaf clearance, that Steve and his team of seven were put onto Aspen. “Tim Lane of ATH Machinery suggested we give Aspen-2 a try, explaining the benefits it could bring to engine life and reliability and also for the cleaner working environment it creates for the operator. We’ve not looked back since” Steve says.

“Aspen-2 being pre-mixed gives us unbeatable consistency which is not only far better for the health and function of the engine but is quicker and safer for the operators not having to manually mix. The transformation in engine performance and reduction in emissions was evident very quickly.” He continues, “This saw us convert over to Aspen for not just the backpack blowers, but also our strimmers, chainsaws and other high-output hand tools which – as it stands – are not viable to run efficiently or economically on battery-power.”

Virtually free from ethanol, aromatics and benzene, Aspen alkylate petrol presents a 99% cleaner fuel than ordinary petrol in regard to the levels of hazardous hydrocarbons. This equates to benefits for operators, equipment and the wider environment alike – where the significant reduction in toxic emissions makes it a popular choice for professional users and those pursuing greater sustainability in their maintenance operations.

“I think people can sometimes be deterred by the cost implications of using an alternative fuel” Steve adds. “In our experience, this has been offset by the lack of mechanical and component issues we’ve experienced since using Aspen, together with the convenience of it being pre-mixed and the time saved by having the 60L drums delivered to site.”

Those wishing to trial Aspen within their businesses can now do so, risk-free, with a money back guarantee. Subject to a bulk purchase, if you don’t ‘Experience the Difference’, Aspen will refund you the cost difference compared to what you would have spent on pump fuel. More details on this can be found on the Aspen website, or by speaking to the team at BTME on stand 423.

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AIM for clean greens

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AIM for clean greens: A new Syngenta one-box fungicide programme is now available, providing a well-proven, cost effective and agronomically strong season-long disease control strategy.   

The AIM programme contains three leading Syngenta fungicides, specifically selected to provide an effective sequential strategy for summer through to winter, including Ascernity, Instrata Elite and Medallion TL.

AIM for clean greens

AIM for clean greens

Sean Loakes, Syngenta Turf Technical Manager for UK & Ireland, advocated the AIM approach optimises the potential to protect turf from immediate disease risks, while also providing longer term pathogen reductions that more effectively prevents disease outbreaks right through the season.

“Starting the programme with Ascernity, targeted at the increasing issues of summer anthracnose and dollar spot infections, followed by Instrata Elite in early autumn has proven to prevent the hugely damaging early outbreaks of microdochium patch.

“The AIM pack then gives a further follow up of Medallion TL for when conditions cool. That gives outstanding protection against damage through the critical time of limited turf recovery,” he advised. AIM is available for golf courses, sports turf and any turf surfaces covered by the products’ label recommendations.

The AIM strategy is fully supported by the Syngenta Turf Advisor App designed to guide optimum fungicide application timing. That includes local disease risk forecast models and disease pressure levels over recent days and weeks, along with a host of weather data to refine decision making.

“Turf Advisor also provides instant assessment of growth potential (GP) of turf, for appropriate product selection.” Sean advocates the multi-active benefits of systemic Ascernity are best utilised while turf is actively growing, with a GP above 20%, while Instrata Elite remains extremely effective as growth slows to 5%-25% GP.

When growth slows further, the contact activity of Medallion TL effectively protects the leaf from disease infection, while also targeting pathogen spores in the thatch and root crown to reduce the risk of infection.

The further advantage of the AIM strategy is that each application contains different fungicide modes of action. The rotation of fungicides and utilising multiple modes of action is the basis of a good fungicide resistance management plan, he added.

“Targeting disease earlier in the season prevents damage to the leaf, reduces stress on the plant and effectively breaks the disease cycle – enabling fungicide programmes to maintain playing surface quality and longer lasting results throughout the season.

“Early disease outbreaks act as infection source for further spread as the season progresses,” he warned. Even where scars have dried up, millions of spores would have been released that can be waiting in thatch or organic matter for the right conditions to develop and trigger new infections.

“Disease management in the autumn is essentially a numbers game. The potential for disease outbreaks is dependent on both the number of pathogens present, and the conditions for it to multiply rapidly.

“Reducing the initial turf disease pathogen population gives the opportunity for cultural Integrated Turf Management (ITM) controls to be more effective.”

STRI trials in Yorkshire showed how the AIM programme of Ascernity at the onset of microdochium patch pressure, followed by Instrata Elite and then Medallion TL, kept disease down below 3% of surface area affected throughout the season, when infection in the untreated area quickly hit 15% and reached over 25% of disease cover. In high pressure trials at ISTI in Ireland, the AIM strategy was the only fungicide treatment approach to keep disease in complete control.

“The actual timing of each application and number of treatments required will be site specific, according to risks and pressure,” pointed out Sean. “The sequence of using the three products is now very well proven, and more convenient and cost effective in the AIM one-box solution.”

Preventing disease outbreaks from mid-summer gives the best chance to go into winter clean, and come out green in the spring.

AIM is distributed in the UK and Ireland by ICL. The AIM one-box solution is also eligible for extra Turf Rewards points to qualify for turf management products and education resources: www.icl-growingsolutions.uk

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