Ottawa asked to sub beet brine for road salt in winter

There’s already a high concentration of chloride, an element of salt, in city waterways this winter, the Ottawa Riverkeeper says.

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Jennifer Schurer hopes 500 signatures gives her petition a chance to persuade the City of Ottawa to reduce how much road salt it uses. Article content

Schurer’s petition asks the city to consider beet brine, an organic mixture of beet juice , to lessen the harmful environmental impacts of traditional salting. Article content Article content

“I just think it’s a really neat alternative,” she said. “I’ve always felt that it’s important to be a responsible steward of the earth.”

Beet brine and other alternatives to salting have been adopted by municipalities across Canada and are less corrosive while also being just as effective at de-ici