Students and staff navigating icy walkways on campus this winter may be stepping onto safer ground — not just for themselves, but for the environment too.
Since winter 2023-2024, crews from Humber’s Capital Development & Facilities Management (CDFM) have gradually been phasing in the use of beet brine as part of its ice-management strategy.
The beet brine the CDFM uses is made from a 70:30 mix of beet juice and salt brine liquid. Beet juice is a natural by-product of sugar beets. CDFM sources this product from a Canadian supplier at a fraction of the price of salt.
In a written statement, the CDFM said this winter, “beet brine is being used exclusively as a pre-treatment on Humber’s walkways, ramps and stairs 24-48 hours before snowfall is expected.”
Although many municipalities have used road salt for years as an effective roadway de-icer, it is harmful to the environment. When it rains, road salt gets washed away into the earth and into rivers and streams. The salt can alter the chemical makeup of the water, which can, in turn, pose harm to plants, fish and wildlife.
Gabi Hentschke, Humber Sustainability, Communications and Engagement Coordinator, said that beet brine is a more sustainable option than salt.
To promote awareness of Humber’s use of beet brine on the walkways, Hentschke made posters and placed them around campus. She also made an HTV ad.
“Salt does impact infrastructure,” she said. “It corrodes surfaces and materials, and the beet brine does not do that.”
Beet brine causes less of a negative impact than traditional road salt, because the salt content in beet brine is only 23.3 per cent compared to regular salt, which is 100 per cent.
Humber is not the first to incorporate beet brine into its winter maintenance toolkit. Cities across Canada, such as Calgary, Winnipeg and even Toronto, have adopted it to minimize their environmental impact.
Beet brine has been found effective in all types of winter weather conditions, but it comes down to timing and the type of snow being dealt with.
As explained to us in a written statement from Scott Iles, Grounds Maintenance Coordinator, CDFM, “Colder dry snow will melt very well with beet brine post snowfall; [for] wetter heavier snow, it’s better to pre-treat the ground and scrape it off after with a plow. This is due to the different moisture content of the snow.”
“We have even used the beet brine to effectively control freezing rain as it creates a coating on the walkways that prevents ice and snow from bonding to the surface.”
Road salt is still in use on campus in some conditions, for safety reasons, like right after plowing, for improved traction on icy surfaces, and between zero and -10 degrees, when salt melts ice faster than beet brine.
Currently, however, there is a salt shortage in Ontario, so CDFM is relying more on beet brine for their ice management needs. Unfortunately, depending on the temperature, beet brine can take longer to melt ice, so it could cause slippery conditions, with none of the traction that salt would provide.
There’s also a somewhat unusual smell. This is because beet juice is an organic material that is breaking down while doing the job.
