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Clear walkways with a clear conscience?

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Geste - Des solutions écolo pour déglacer

According to Environment Canada, "road salts pose a risk to plants, animals and the aquatic environment." Are there environmentally friendly alternatives to salt when it comes to de-icing our front steps and driveways in the wintertime? 

Here are some of the ideas we've come across, in the news and online. We haven't tried them all, so we can't vouch for them, but we are sharing them now, because if ever there was a year to talk about de-icing, it is 2014.

  • Shovel as soon as snow falls to prevent ice from forming. 
    • This is one of the simplest and most environmentally friendly ways to keep your pathways clear in the winter. Waiting too long before shovelling can complicate your efforts, and render them less effective. 
    • For bonus points: If you have neighbours with reduced mobility, give them a hand.
  • Spread bird seeds or coffee grounds for traction (organic bird seeds and fair trade coffee grounds, of course).
     
  • If you do use a de-icing product:
    • Use a product with coloring to prevent over-application. 
    • Apply the product just before a snowfall to reduce the amount that you need. 
    • When the weather permits, sweep up excess product, to prevent it from seeping its way into nearby waterways. 
    • Pay attention to the temperatures indicated on the product: many such products will not work below certain temperatures.
  • Use food-based products:
    • Juice your way to a clear entranceway? Transports Québec uses a beet juice concoction on a section of highway 20 in the Bas-Saint-Laurent. A beet-based de-icing product is also in use on certain highways in the Eastern Townships, and the city of Montreal has already used such a product on some of its sidewalks. In New Brunswick, some contractors use organic beet juice in their snow clearing operations. It seems that beet juice lowers the freezing temperature of water. If you have used a beet-based solution at home, let us know about it. Our family farmers would be delighted to hear about this novel use for their winter baskets. 
    • In Saint-Valérien, near Rimouski, crews use a corn-syrup mixture on icy roads. 
    • A French company has created a snow-melting product made from the pulp of grapes that have fallen from the vine. You may want to look further into this one if you happen to live near a vineyard... 
  • Wear good boots with a good tread or get yourself a pair of crampons! Because, really, some of the simplest ideas are the most environmentally sound. 

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