Most of you probably know that salt is used on roads to help lower the freezing point of water and prevent roads from getting icy and causing car accidents. Salt can cause a lot of problems, though, when it runs off the roads into rivers and lakes. It also easily bounces off pavement and gets stuck on cars. Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is testing a pilot program that is more environmentally-friendly (and reduces waste) - using leftover cheese brine (which is salty) on the roads from the state's 2.7 billion-pound (in 2012) cheese production industry. The brine is usually brought to wastewater treatment plants, so this pilot program is saving water treatment costs, and dairy waste transport costs, too. Unfortunately, it still has to be used with rock salt (up to 8 gallons of brine per every ton of rock salt).
In the spring, we should know results from the study and if it is feasible to expand it. (If so, I hope Michigan State University will use their leftover cheese brine from the Dairy Store on campus!)
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/24/us/wisconsin-finds-another-role-for-cheese-de-icing-roads.html
In the spring, we should know results from the study and if it is feasible to expand it. (If so, I hope Michigan State University will use their leftover cheese brine from the Dairy Store on campus!)
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/24/us/wisconsin-finds-another-role-for-cheese-de-icing-roads.html