A bit too salty for our taste
Road salt is toxic. “Environment Canada has deemed road salt a hazardous substance,” says Lee Gould, executive director of the not-for-profit organization Smart About Salt Council.
Yet salt also helps create a safer environment for driving and walking in slippery winter conditions. Therein lies the rub.
Gould tells us that our fresh waterways around Toronto are loaded with the stuff. A few years ago, Atlantic saltwater-loving East Coast crabs were found in the Humber River.
“Often our local fresh waterways contain more salt than naturally salty oceans,” he said.
The Smart About Salt Council is dedicated to the responsible use of salt. You have likely seen piles of the stuff accumulate on outdoor steps, sidewalks, at a curb’s edge or at the entrance to a store. We crunch through rock salt and our winter footwear pays the price. Salt is a painful problem for GTA dogs and their sensitive paws. Metal car bodies suffer from the corrosive nature of road salt as do metal stair rails and pillars, and even concrete building foundations.
So, what to do?
“From a safety perspective, homeowners should demand that those who are hired to undertake snow and ice removal are knowledgeable,” suggests Gould. “It’s an irony that we wouldn’t hire an untrained (and uncertified) electrician, but we don’t demand the same of those that are striving to keep facilities and businesses open, to protect some of our most vulnerable people, like seniors, and those utilizing health-care facilities, schools, etc.”
He advises clearing snow and slush before applying salt, or a salt substitute. When you do put it down, only use it on a band of space on your walkway that is wide enough to walk on. Avoid applying salt to the margins of a hard surface, since it will run off as a salt/brine solution when it melts and harm plants, grass, hedges and trees.
Salt substitutes have been around for a long time and are considered more friendly to plants, but most contain chloride. Though less toxic than salt, manufacturing chloride also produces nitrogen oxide, as does fertilizer production. Natural alternatives to salt include sand, sawdust, wood ash, sugar beet juice, kitty litter and dry coffee grounds.
The Smart About Salt Council has an excellent website — smartaboutsalt.com — that is full of practical suggestions relating to the use of salt and also suggests substitutes.
So far this winter, the use of road salt is down from previous years in Central Canada since — until the start of this past week! — we’ve enjoyed a mostly mild and snowless season. It’s been good for getting out and about.
However, your garden plants may respond to our warmer temperatures and lack of snow in a variety of ways.
The bad news Some insects that are marginally hardy may survive the winter in fine shape. (Hello, Japanese beetle, you pain in the neck!) Plant diseases are generally not affected by cold temperatures, but moisture levels do affect them. More on that later this season.
Some spring bulbs may sprout through the surface of the soil prematurely, especially where sun shines on the south or west side of a building, radiating heat that can force crocus, tulips and the like to start growing early. For the most part, this is not a problem since spring-flowering bulbs have a natural antifreeze — unless flower buds form and we then get a cold snap below -8 C.
The good news Marginally winter-hardy plants that we grow in our gardens will likely head into spring with flying colours. In the GTA, these may include rhododendrons, peach trees some Japanese maples, lavender and some Mediterranean herbs.
At this point in the season, there is no measurable risk to a cold snap of -20 C for a few days. But lower temperatures than that might kill off or create die-back on some plants. We will know more come April. Stay tuned — and consider your salt intake.
From a safety perspective, homeowners should demand that those who are hired to undertake snow and ice removal are knowledgeable.
LEE GOULD OF THE SMART ABOUT SALT COUNCIL