Dive Brief:
- An agency in Fort Worth, TX has decided to give sand recycling a try, and plans to re-use the minuscule debris as it is swept up from the roadways instead of paying $16 per ton to replenish thousands of tons of sand in the winter.
- The North Texas Tollway Authority said the sand to could be used for a variety of projects, including traction for roads in snowy and icy conditions, backfilling, and as a filler for holes.
- The agency said it will recycle up to 3 million pounds of sand, all of which would have otherwise gone straight to the landfill.
Dive Insight:
The toll authority would normally have to pay to have the sand sit at a landfill. In addition to the savings from not using the landfill, the authority stands to save around $60,000 annually (despite the $10,000 it will have to spend on recycling costs).
Transportation officials tout the money-saving potential of re-using sustainable materials. As temperatures reached subzero levels in the winter of 2014, traditional methods such as salting weren’t working. Innovative officials began experimenting with alternative resources such as food waste. Some crews used beet juice, molasses, and cheese brine to combat the icy road conditions. These solutions were viewed as environmentally friendly and cost-effective -- but it remains to be seen if these unconventional methods are used again this winter.
