American Honda Motor Corp. along with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued a recall of approximately 167,000 Honda Walk-Behind Lawn Mowers due to laceration hazards. The lawn mowers Roto-Stop return spring can break without warning and cause the break mechanism to malfunction, the clutch to remain engaged, and the cutting blades to continue rotating under power even after the blade control lever is released. This can result in serious lacerations. The recall affects the Honda HRB217HXA, HRX217HXA and HRX217HMA walk-behind lawn mowers that are dark grey with red fan covers. The following serial numbers are affected:

The recalled lawn mowers were sold nationwide through Honda Lawn and Garden dealers and The Home Depot stores January 2003 through November 2007. Consumers are advised to immediately stop using the recalled lawn mowers and contact a Honda Lawn and Garden dealer for a free repair. Consumers can contact Honda at (800) 426-7701 between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. ET Monday through Friday for additional information. Consumers can also visit the company’s recall page for more information at http://www.hondapowerequipment.com/recalls/.

Honda has released a recall of about 22,000 of it’s HRX walk-behind lawn mowers with model numbers HRX217KHXA and HRX217KHMA that have serial numbers from 1400001 through 1453714. The lawn mowers are being recalled because of a design defect that can allow fuel to leak from the tank and pose as a fire hazard. Owners of these models with the serial numbers should definitely stop using the mowers and contact Honda for instructions on free repair. Check out the official release at http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml08/08077.html.

The EPA released a new study in April of 2007 that would reduce hydrobcarbon, oxides of nitrogen, as well as carbon monoxide emissions  from small engines which includes lawn equipment like lawn mowers. Lawn mowers are heavy pollutants even if it is not as apparent but one has to imagine how often lawn mowers are used throughout the year. The new standards are proposed to start in 2011 and according to the EPA, “the small engine regulation will increase the cost of equipment by an average of $5-7 per unit.” For those interested in the EPA proposal, check out http://www.epa.gov/otaq/equip-ld.htm

This is one of the most interesting stories the staff at lawnmowersworld.com has come across. Many areas around the nation have companies that take care of people’s lawn care needs including mowing the lawn, taking out weeds, and other duties. The interesting part about the Tiger Time Lawn Care of Memphis, Tennessee is the fact that they offer a special where girls in bikinis will go out and mow your lawn.  Deemed the Bikini Cut, girls in bikinis will mow the lawn, blow the clippings, and take care of the lawn, all for a higher fee. Wonder how well this business is doing and if more lawn care companies will start doing the same thing. This is a quote from one of the bikini clad ladies, “You get the attention but you also get a tan, which I need”.

Toronto’s climate change plan has been set in motion and one of the recommendations for the plan is a complete ban of all two-stroke motors which are used in gas powered lawn mowers. This is a great step by a city to lower ai pollution but can be harder to implement and plan out. Hopefully though, this will be a stepping stone that other locales will learn from and possibly implement the more effective parts of the plan as well.