Mystery solved: this is where our road salt comes from

The mittens can come out again and the first gritters have already been brought out in recent weeks to make Zoetermeer’s streets safer. But where does the road salt actually come from? And can you make your sidewalk ice-free with table salt?

When temperatures drop and there is a risk of slippery conditions, the municipality of Zoetermeer sends special gritters onto the road.

Salt storage on Argonstraat

The road salt for the roads of Rijkswaterstaat comes from five central warehouses, spread throughout the country. The warehouses in Utrecht and Valkenburg airport are closest to Zoetermeer. The slippery season starts from November 1 and the winter service is ready to spread 24/7. The salt in Zoetermeer is stored in a small warehouse on Argonstraat. The municipality communicates via Facebook and Instagram when the gritters go out.

Salt from the kitchen

Sprinkle salt is ordinary table salt, but less pure. Road salt has larger grains and contains heavy metals such as chromium, lead, copper and nickel. Not really tasty on an egg. Conversely, you can use table salt to clean your sidewalk, but at really low temperatures it is better to use road salt.

What kind of salt?

There are three different types of road salt: vacuum, rock and sea salt. The use of sea salt is not common in the Netherlands. “The salt concentration in the seawater is too low, so it still freezes when it comes into contact with the road. Moreover, our current equipment is not suitable for this. Rijkswaterstaat has no spraying trucks, but only spreaders for dry salt diluted with salt water,” explains Rijkswaterstaat on their website.

Vacuum salt is quite pure, but takes a lot of energy to produce. Rock salt comes from the salt mines of Germany, Morocco, Turkey, Egypt, Argentina and Austria. Just think about that when you’re speeding along the gritted roads in your car.

Slippery conditions in Zoetermeer

When there is a threat of slippery conditions, the municipality salts the main roads and so-called cold spots. These are places that freeze quickly. During snow and icy conditions, the municipality also spreads salt on main roads and cycle paths. In some places salt is not suitable. The municipality opts for urea instead. In dangerous, slippery places, they sometimes opt for sand as a quick emergency solution.