Since 2019, authorities in southern Germany have been experimenting with using waste brine from pickled cucumbers on the roads – instead of road salt.
Road salt is used in large parts of the world when winter brings ice and snow. However, in Germany, an unusual solution has been found.
Experiments are currently underway to replace road salt with a residual product from the food industry. This is cucumber brine, a waste product from the production of pickled cucumbers.
For more than 50 years, road salt has been a common means of increasing safety on slippery roads during the winter months.
But the use of road salt is not without its problems. It can have negative consequences for both the environment and vehicles. Cars in particular can be damaged when roads are covered with salt to combat frost.
This can lead to rust and corrosion on vital parts, which are expensive to replace. Therefore, there is a need to find more sustainable alternatives. In Denmark, for example, experiments are being conducted with starfish on slippery roads. Read more about it here .
Since 2019, local authorities in southern Germany have been working together with a food manufacturer. The company is called Develey.
Together they have tested the use of cucumber pickle as a substitute for road salt on slippery roads. This has proven to be a more environmentally friendly and cheaper solution.
Cucumber juice is a residual product from cucumber production. It is therefore not something that needs to be produced separately for this purpose.
It is important to note that it is not the pickle juice straight from the jars that is used on the roads. The salt content in regular pickle juice is too low to have the desired effect.
Instead, wastewater from the production of pickles is used. This wastewater has a higher salt content, which means that snow and ice melt away more quickly.
During a winter season, around 2,000 tons of cucumber pickle are used on the roads in southern Germany. That's a considerable amount. But according to the Germans, the product has already proven itself as a real alternative to road salt.
Even larger institutions have embraced cucumber brine. Germany's second-largest airport, located in Munich, has begun using cucumber brine after years of testing. The airport now relies on it to maintain safety during the winter months.
BMW's factory in Dingolfing has also started using cucumber juice, writes the German ADAC. According to the German response to FDM, this proves that cucumber juice is not only suitable for use on ordinary roads.
This may also apply in places and fortifications where there are possibly even greater safety requirements. Whether the legal product of pickled cucumbers will also end up on Danish roads is still too early to say. But it is a suggestion.
