City agrees to test green alternative to salt on sidewalks

The City of Ottawa has agreed to a trial run of an environmentally friendly salt substitute on sidewalks along the Rideau Canal.

The product, EcoTraction, is an abrasive made from a natural volcanic mineral that sticks to ice to prevent slipping.

At a recent meeting, Earth Innovations, the manufacturer of EcoTraction, offered the city six tonnes of the material to apply it to pathways along the canal.

The decision is pending legal clearance and approval from the NCC, says Mark Watson, co-founder of Earth Innovations.

If all goes well this year, the city and Earth Innovations will apply for a $300,000 Green Municipal Fund grant to research alternatives to road salt.

 The fund supports green initiatives in municipalities across Canada.

Watson says the pilot project is a positive step for the city.

In the past, the city has argued that nothing is as effective and cost-efficient as the current salt and grit combos, but it is not opposed to alternatives.

A December report from the city’s public works department discussed minimizing the city’s use of salt and its environmental impacts.

“If proven (that) it works, the city would love to use it,” says Jocelyne Turner, a spokeswoman for the city.

However, the city maintains that the product would cost an estimated $20 million per year versus the $240,000 average it spends yearly on salt and grit, says Turner.

Watson says the city is failing to appreciate the cost-effectiveness of the product.

“EcoTraction is more expensive on a straight-line comparison at five to seven times the price of salt, but you use nine times less,” he says.

He says cost should not be the only deciding factor. In the long term, he says, salt can damage parks, trees and historic buildings in Ottawa.

“There’s thousands of historic buildings that are vulnerable to chloride (in Centretown), including Parliament and the canal, which are built out of limestone,” Watson says.

 “There’s a lot of externalized costs. Who’s paying for bridges that are collapsing or filtering salt out from our drinking water?” argues Watson. “When that starts adding up, it’s a $150-million annual problem.”

Turner says the city will release a final report on the salt management program, which ended in 2010, later this year to further address the issue.

Watson says EcoTraction may carpet selected sidewalks along the canal as soon as Winterlude ends.