Greater Sudbury encourages residents to curb use of road salt
A new environmental initiative by the City of Greater Sudbury aims to educate people on how to use road salt more responsibly.
It's handing out free cups for people to measure their salt to encourage them to use less – and help the environment in the process.
The educational initiative includes handing out the 12-ounce cups at area libraries. City officials said a little salt can cover a larger area than most people think.
"There is a balance between too much and too little," said Jennifer Babin-Fenske, the climate change coordinator with the City of Greater Sudbury.
“We want to encourage people just to think about how much they use (and whether) they really do need to use that much.”
The city said salt can cause corrosion of concrete, wood and metal. There are also many negative environmental impacts.
"If you think of salt in the springtime, if it's melted onto your side areas the grass might be dead along that area,” she said.
“It does affect vegetation. And if it gets into our waterways, it's affecting the fish and other aquatic water life. And that chloride isn't good for our drinking water.”
The city said salt is used on only 25 per cent of city roads and it's had a road salt management plan in place since 2005.
"In order to ensure that we’re optimizing the use of salt and minimizing the amount of salt that is going into the environment," said Brittany Hallam, the city’s director of linear infrastructure services.
“So we want to be conscious of our source water protection plan and to ensure as little is going into the lakes as possible.”
Information printed on the 12-ounce cup shows it contains enough salt to cover 10 sidewalk squares, or 500 square feet. It also clarifies that rock salt is less effective when it’s -12C or colder.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Indian envoy warns of 'big red line,' days after charges laid in Nijjar case
India's envoy to Canada insists relations between the two countries are positive overall, despite what he describes as 'a lot of noise.'
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
U.S. paused bomb shipment to Israel to signal concerns over Rafah invasion, official says
The U.S. paused a shipment of bombs to Israel last week over concerns that Israel was approaching a decision on launching a full-scale assault on the southern Gaza city of Rafah against the wishes of the U.S.
Former homicide detective explains how police will investigate shooting outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion
Footage from dozens of security cameras in the area of Drake’s Bridle Path mansion could be the key to identifying the suspect responsible for shooting and seriously injuring a security guard outside the rapper’s sprawling home early Tuesday morning, a former Toronto homicide detective says.
Northern Ont. woman makes 'eggstraordinary' find
A chicken farmer near Mattawa made an 'eggstraordinary' find Friday morning when she discovered one of her hens laid an egg close to three times the size of an average large chicken egg.
Susan Buckner, who played spirited cheerleader Patty Simcox in 'Grease,' dead at 72
Susan Buckner, best known for playing peppy Rydell High School cheerleader Patty Simcox in the 1978 classic movie musical 'Grease,' has died. She was 72.
Jeremy Skibicki has 'uphill battle' to prove he's not criminally responsible in Winnipeg killings: legal analysts
Accused killer Jeremy Skibicki could have a challenging time convincing a judge that he is not criminally responsible for the deaths of four Indigenous women, a legal analyst says.
Bye-bye bag fee: Calgary repeals single-use bylaw
A Calgary bylaw requiring businesses to charge a minimum bag fee and only provide single-use items when requested has officially been tossed.
Alcohol believed to be a factor in boating incident after 2 men die: N.S. RCMP
Two Nova Scotia men are dead after a boat they were travelling in sank in the Annapolis River in Granville Centre, N.S., on Monday.