how to make grit?

Jonesya

Suzy_M wrote: »

Before everyone rushes out to steal road salt from the roadside bins -

Shock! Householder paying £1k+ per year in council tax steals 60p of road salt from bin. :rotfl:

Chippy_Minton_2

Jonesya wrote: »

Shock! Householder paying £1k+ per year in council tax steals 60p of road salt from bin. :rotfl:

Yeah and you highlighted the important point too!:rolleyes:

It's still theft and would you want to go to court over it?

Suzy_M

Jonesya wrote: »

Shock! Householder paying £1k+ per year in council tax steals 60p of road salt from bin. :rotfl:

It's not the value it's the principal.

These roadside grit bins were put there for the greater good. In many cases local communities have had to fight to have them, keep them, or have them reinstated. Even when there are grit bins there are still problems getting councils to fill them.

Theft / misuse of the contents and vandalism gives councils a ready-made excuse to remove the bins to save money.

As regards cost - unfortunately it's not just one householder taking one bucketful from one bin it's several householders taking several buckets from the same bin until nothing is left to spread where it is most needed.

markelock

why not just buy some from wickes or similar?

it's not expensive. i keep some in my porch, just to clear the path for the kids to walk to the car. simple.

artichoke

hi

i posted this originally on money saving old style because i DON'T want to buy grit in wicks.....

in the old days they must have made their own oldstyle grit... and i was just asking for advice as to what to use.....

my mum said she used to use coal ash when she was a kid and i was just seeing in others had any other old style suggestions...

art

Plasticman

Suzy_M wrote: »

It's not the value it's the principal.

These roadside grit bins were put there for the greater good. In many cases local communities have had to fight to have them, keep them, or have them reinstated. Even when there are grit bins there are still problems getting councils to fill them.

Theft / misuse of the contents and vandalism gives councils a ready-made excuse to remove the bins to save money.

As regards cost - unfortunately it's not just one householder taking one bucketful from one bin it's several householders taking several buckets from the same bin until nothing is left to spread where it is most needed.

So what can the grit in a grit bin be used for? There is one near us and the council seem to keep it topped up. They never spread the grit though, so I assume that it is there for the use of local residents? Is it just for use in the road, or for the pavement or for individual house paths and drives?? Who makes the rules and what are they??????

markelock

artichoke wrote: »

hi

i posted this originally on money saving old style because i DON'T want to buy grit in wicks.....

in the old days they must have made their own oldstyle grit... and i was just asking for advice as to what to use.....

my mum said she used to use coal ash when she was a kid and i was just seeing in others had any other old style suggestions...

art

they use coal slag in europe I believe?

a bag for £4, and you get to clear pathways at your own convenience, with hardly any mess?

my time is worth much more than that, so I still say it's worth doing, and it's a bargain.

normal salt would cost you much much more than that.

Kataratarina

i would assume that the grit bins are to be used for the areas where the gritter lorry doesnt reach, as they only seem to drive on main roads, i take it that the one at the top of my street is for our street which is a complete nightmare to get up in ice/snow and its not that steep...

Suzy_M

Plasticman wrote: »

So what can the grit in a grit bin be used for?

OK - Different councils have slightly differing policies (though they all dismally fail to provide any explanation) but -

Roadside grit bins are provided so the public, usually local residents, can spread the grit on particularly exposed locations and dangerous road junctions themselves. These are usually where the road is not on a gritting route, priority or otherwise. Also in some cases they may be used to supplement routine gritting if the road is a particularly nasty black spot.

Years ago there even used to be a shovel clipped inside the lid but of course they long since disappeared along with the salt. - These days anyone trying to be helpful has to provide their own shovel.

Suzy_M

Kataratarina wrote: »

i take it that the one at the top of my street is for our street which is a complete nightmare to get up in ice/snow and its not that steep...

Yup - for use on the public roads and public footpaths at that point - but see my other post as you will probably need your own shovel! - Oh by the way a little does go a long way and best applied very early morning and/or at dusk.