Grass2Grit is juice from verge grass. It is a green and circular alternative for road salt. In an average winter, the Netherlands spread approximately 200,000 tonnes of road salt on the roads and cycle paths. This salt is detrimental to flowers and plants. It also percolates through soil into groundwater. Only in the autumn is the salt finally washed out of the soil by the rain. The green solution for this is using salty grass juice: Grass2Grit.
From grass to de-icer
Grass2Grit is more environmentally friendly than regular road salt and plentiful, because three percent of the Netherlands comprises of verges. To make the verges attractive for flowers, herbs and insects, the grass must be mowed once or twice each year and removed. After mowing, the grass is sometimes left in situ and this slows down the growth of other plants. Though regarded as a cost-effective method of maintaining verges, this process has a negative impact on the biodiversity. We expect that the innovative mowing practices combined with the environmentally friendly de-icing product will have a positive effect on the biodiversity.
Juice and fibers
Grass juice from grass verges can be reprocessed to produce a very concentrated salt solution that is used as a basis for brine for spreading on the roads when slippery conditions are forecast. The grass fibres are dried and fragmented into small particles to produce biogranulate-based road signage such as traffic signs, posts and other bioplastic roadway infrastructure. An innovative and circular approach. Grass2Grit is co-funded by the EU LIFE programme to further research and develop the concept.
