In many parts of the world, salting the roads is critical to safety, and people also need to salt their driveways, paths, and other areas around their homes. Salt prevents thousands of accidents every year, making surfaces safe to walk on. However, road salt is not an eco-friendly option, and you might be wondering if there are better alternatives.
Some alternatives to road salt include things like potassium acetate, beet juice, cheese brine, kitty litter, chicken grit, calcium magnesium acetate, sand, and alfalfa meal. Not all of these will melt the ice but may be suitable for certain situations. At present, there’s no like-for-like product that is definitely eco-friendly.
We’re going to use this article to understand more about how you can make sure surfaces are non-slip without damaging the environment. There are no perfect answers to this, but hopefully, the information here will help you make the best choices for your needs.
What Are Eco Alternatives To Road Salt?
There are quite a few eco-friendly alternatives to road salt, and a few alternatives that haven’t yet been fully tested, but which may be worth knowing about. Things you might want to try if you need to grit the area around your home include:
- Potassium acetate
- Beet juice
- Cheese brine
- Kitty litter
- Chicken grit
- Calcium magnesium acetate
- Sand
- Alfalfa meal
Let’s check these out and see how they compare to road salt, and what the advantages and drawbacks are.
1) Potassium Acetate
This is one that you may not be able to use at home, but transportation departments are trialing it in places like Minnesota. It is actually more effective than road salt when it comes to melting ice in really low temperatures (below 15 degrees F).
It is more expensive, but less is needed overall, meaning that the cost is comparable. It also coats surfaces more effectively because it’s a liquid, rather than granular. It doesn’t bounce off the surface being coated as much.
However, more research is needed to understand its environmental impact. It does biodegrade, unlike chloride, but there are concerns about its toxicity. It is not safe for aquatic life, and therefore should be used with caution. It may not be suitable for use at home.
2) Beet Juice
You might be surprised by the idea that beet juice can be used to salt roads and sidewalks, but it can. It’s eco-friendly, safe for wildlife, and pretty inexpensive, so it’s definitely one you might want to try at home. Like salt, it will lower the freezing point of ice, making your walkways less likely to freeze over.
However, it is not as effective as salt. It’s often combined with road salt as a way of reducing the amount of salt needed to ensure pathways remain safe. If you are going to just use beet juice, you’ll need to be very careful, as it may not be sufficient to make surfaces safe. Combined with salt, it’s effective.
There are still some concerns surrounding even beet juice, however, as it can have a bad effect on certain insects. It’s definitely better than just road salt, but further research is needed to understand how environmental it truly is.
3) Cheese Brine
Cheese brine might sound like a very odd option for de-icing, but it does work. Cheese brine is much cheaper than conventional road salt, and both this and pickle brine can be used to keep your sidewalks ice-free.
Brine only works in temperatures above -23 degrees F, but this is going to be enough for most applications, especially if you just want something that you can use around your home. Additionally, cheese brine is often a waste product that would otherwise be thrown away, so finding a way to use it is ideal.
This is certainly something you should try if you’re looking for an eco-friendly de-icer. If you haven’t got access to cheese brine, just the brine left at the end of a jar of pickles should be sufficient to melt snow and ice.
There is still a lot of salt in brine, but it’s significantly reduced when compared to using just road salt. Additionally, because it is applied in a liquid form, it’s more effective at covering the surface, and it’s more likely to stay in the right place.
It also won’t do as much damage to the surface it is applied to, because the salt is diluted.
4) Kitty Litter
Kitty litter is sometimes used on icy surfaces as an alternative to salt, and if you buy biodegradable, eco-friendly litter, this could be a reasonably good option. However, you should be aware that it will not melt the ice – it just provides grip.
This can make it safer to walk around but does mean that the ice will still be there. It’s not a way to get rid of snow, but it will work if you don’t need to melt the ice.
5) Chicken Grit
Some people swear by chicken grit as a way to deal with slippery surfaces. Like kitty litter, this provides traction, and it’s a totally natural product that will break down gradually. If birds, mice, or other animals eat it, it won’t hurt them – and indeed, it will provide them with nourishment (unlike road salt, which kills animals that try to consume it).
Chicken grit can make surfaces less slippery, but overall, it’s not a de-icer; it just gives you more grip on the surface.
6) Calcium Magnesium Acetate
If money isn’t a problem for you, calcium magnesium acetate could be the way to de-ice your walkways. It might sound like something you’d only find in a science lab, but it’s actually pretty easy to get hold of at most big department stores.
It works effectively as a salt substitute, and as far as we know, it’s fine from an environmental perspective. It is also less corrosive than road salt, and shouldn’t damage the surfaces it is applied to nearly as much.
Its biggest drawback is the price; it’s not a cheap product. This means that few local authorities will pay the difference, especially as road salt is already quite expensive. Prices will vary, but it’s not yet considered a viable alternative in most places.
However, if you’re just buying a de-icer for your home environment, the price difference may not be as important to you. This product is considered safe for pets, eco-friendly, and less damaging, which might make it one of the best options out there for replacing road salt.
7) Sand
Sand, like kitty litter and chicken grit, will provide traction on the surface, but will not melt the ice. It can work for giving you additional grip and will make walkways less slippery, but it doesn’t prevent ice from forming.
It is not used by local authorities for this reason. The additional grip isn’t enough to make roads safe for traffic, or sidewalks safe for pedestrians. However, for use at home, and is an eco-friendly option that is inert and safe for both pets and wildlife.
Sand does usually need to be cleared up after the cold spell, however. Unlike kitty litter and chicken grit, it does not biodegrade, and once the ice melts, it will look messy. It won’t damage anything if you don’t remove it, but a lot of people will want to sweep it away. This is an extra chore.
8) Alfalfa Meal
Alfalfa meal is another good alternative to road salt because it both provides traction and has some ice-melting properties. It contains urea, which is pretty good at melting ice – although not as effective as things like road salt and calcium magnesium acetate.
It’s safe for pets and non-corrosive, which makes it great for use around the home. However, the urea in it affects plant life, so you must ensure you keep it away from your garden.
The great thing about alfalfa meal is that it’s totally natural, and it will break down and decompose without damaging the environment.
Which Is The Best Eco-Friendly Alternative To Road Salt?
This depends on your needs and preferences. If you’re just dealing with a small amount of ice, increasing the traction could be enough – in which case, kitty litter or chicken grit may be the way to go. You could also try sand, which can be reused, or alfalfa meal as long as you aren’t close to any greenery. All of these will work.
However, the closest true alternative to road salt is calcium magnesium acetate. This mimics the properties of road salt by melting the ice, and it’s non-corrosive and safe for the environment. It’s just unfortunate that it costs so much more.
Conclusion
As you can see, there are plenty of eco-friendly alternatives to road salt, although some of them only work by increasing the surface’s traction, and some are not as effective at melting frozen water. Try these out around your home if you want to make sure your deicing efforts are safe for your pets, the local wildlife, and the planet as a whole.
