In winter weather, maintenance crews diligently work to clear roadways, while residents and businesses tackle walkways and parking areas. This usually includes applying a lot of salt. When something is cheap and plentiful, we tend to be careless about how much we use. While rock salt is very effective at melting snow and ice, it comes at a steep cost. And we’re clearly using too much of it in many areas.

The amount of salt used on roadways has increased dramatically over the years.