You’ve probably noticed the incredible amount of road salt it takes for Rhode Islanders to get through icy winters without sliding into accidents. From November through March, it seems like the salt is everywhere. It coats your shoes. It covers your car. It can even makes its way into your home. While it may be annoying, it is a necessity for keeping drivers safe.
Unfortunately, the heavy use of road salt is more than just an inconvenience from an environmental perspective. It can be downright dangerous as chloride ions from salt can impact soil, vegetation, aquatic life, wildlife, pets, and humans according to the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services. It can even erode infrastructure such as roads, bridges, and expensive equipment.
That’s where Kevin Barrett, founder of Safe Road Services, is hoping to make a big impact. Using calcium chloride and a forestry byproduct of the paper-pulping process called lignin, he developed Safe Melt.
Safe Melt is a de-icing product that can be used to reduce the amount of harmful chloride ions introduced to the environment from road salt by as much as 50%. It passes some of the toughest environmental safety tests in the country and is even safe enough to eat as demonstrated on WGME CBS News in Portland, Maine.
While it may not make for an appetizing meal, it provides public works departments with a great alternative to traditional ice melters, allowing them to use 33-50% less salt and sand.
But Safe Road Services doesn’t only help the environment in the winter as the company also produces Safe Bind, an environmentally-friendly road stabilizer that prevents erosion and other deterioration of dirt and gravel roads.
Using lignin’s natural adhesive properties, Safe Bind packs the fine particles in these roads closer together to form a stronger surface. This leads to less grading and raking for public works departments, saving them time and money while cutting back on carbon emissions due to fewer hours spent running equipment.
On top of that, Safe Bind is significantly less corrosive than calcium chloride or magnesium chloride brines. In fact, it is less corrosive than water! The product’s highly-organic formula is approved by the U.S. Forest Service Administration and General Service Administration as well as local and regional government agencies.
If you would like to learn more about the road maintenance product company that is making a difference, visit saferoadservices.com.
