WINTER STREET SAND RECYCLING PROGRAM

One of the main challenges facing Canadian cities is the maintenance of their roadway systems to provide safe winter driving conditions. In Edmonton, more than 165,000 tonnes of sand and salt are applied annually to the city’s roads. In the past, almost all of these materials were swept up in the spring and disposed of in a landfill. In 2003, the City of Edmonton Transportation and Streets Department and the Edmonton Waste Management Center of Excellence formed a partnership, to investigate the feasibility of recycling street sweepings. The winter street sand recycling pilot project, partially funded by a grant from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities Green Fund, had dramatic results. The pilot project was able to recover and recycle 80% of the collected street sweepings for re-use as winter street sand. Based on this success, the Winter Street Sand Recycling Program was developed. This unique corporate initiative demonstrated the City of Edmonton’s on-going commitment to the protection of the environment and the conservation of Alberta’s natural resources.