Green Grass Cutters (also known as Environmental Mowing or Enviro-Mow) is an environmentally friendly lawn mowing company.  It was founded as a "green business," to provide a lawn service that does not use polluting gas-powered mowers.  We also do community outreach and education, encouraging customers and other community members to plant native species and reduce the lawn area of their properties.

Our service area includes Washington, DC and the surrounding suburbs of Northern Virginia (including Arlington, Fairfax City, Fairfax County, Alexandria, Falls Church, McLean, and Great Falls) and Suburban Maryland (Montgomery County and Prince George's County, including Bethesda, Potomac, Chevy Chase, Silver Spring, Rockville, Takoma Park, Greenbelt, and College Park).

We primarily use electric lawn mowers and other electric lawn care equipment.  What's wrong with using normal lawn mowers with gas (internal combustion) engines?  They produce about one third of all particulate air pollution in our metropolitan areas.  Less efficient than car engines, they produce much more pollution per gallon of fuel used.

Our electric mowers produce zero on-site emissions.  True, the production of electricity creates some pollution.  However, it produces much less than gas engines because electric generation plants burn fuels very efficiently and many don’t burn fossil fuels at all.  We were impressed by an extensive EPA study that compared gasoline to electric mowers.  After accounting for power-plant emissions, replacing gas mowers with electrics results in a 99 percent reduction in carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, and methane, and a 38 percent reduction in carbon dioxide.

Electric mowers are also quieter.  Gas mowers run at some 90 decibels. (Ear-protectors are recommended for commercial operators.)  Electric mowers, operating in the 65- to 85-decibel range, make being a thoughtful neighbor a whole lot easier.  And they aren’t a risk to the hearing of our employees.

They are also easier to operate.  Lighter, easier to start, and easier to push.  This means we can hire a more diverse group of employees who are interested in doing good for the environment while also making a living.

Because of our dual role as service company and education/outreach organization, and because our services are rendered in a manner designed to put community benefit ahead of any profit, we were founded as a non-profit corporation.  All revenues not going directly to defray costs are put into outreach and education activities.