Winter is coming closer in the Northern Hemisphere, and we all
know the side effects of the salt (calcium chloride) used
currently to de-ice the roads: it rots vehicles and its chlorine
component is not the cleanest product to be dispersed on the
environment.  In Japan they have considered that there could be
a better solution to de-ice the roads, so in a place where
apples and scallops are produced, the Aomori Ecological Recycle
Industrial Association in Japan started manufacturing a road de-
icing agent that employs large amounts of scallop shells
generated as a seafood processing by-product in Aomori
Prefecture. The acid part of the component is developed from
apple pomace, used to produce acetic acid (the main component of
vinegar).  The method fixes two problems at the same time: using
waste which would normally be discarded and creating a product
that is friendlier to the environment than the current salts.
The Association started production in March 2007 and plans to
process 6,000 tons of scallop shells