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A grit bin, salt bin or sand bin is an item of
street furniture Street furniture is a collective term for objects and pieces of equipment installed along streets and roads for various purposes. It includes benches, traffic barriers, bollards, post boxes, phone boxes, streetlamps, traffic lights, traffic ...
, commonly found in countries where freezing temperatures and snowfall occur, which holds a mixture of
salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quantiti ...
and grit that is spread over
road A road is a linear way for the conveyance of traffic that mostly has an improved surface for use by vehicles (motorized and non-motorized) and pedestrians. Unlike streets, the main function of roads is transportation. There are many types of ...
s if they have
snow Snow comprises individual ice crystals that grow while suspended in the atmosphere—usually within clouds—and then fall, accumulating on the ground where they undergo further changes. It consists of frozen crystalline water throughout ...
or
ice Ice is water frozen into a solid state, typically forming at or below temperatures of 0 degrees Celsius or Depending on the presence of impurities such as particles of soil or bubbles of air, it can appear transparent or a more or less opaq ...
on them. Spreading rock salt over roads and pathways is commonly done either by hand or with a winter service vehicle and helps improve
road safety Road traffic safety refers to the methods and measures used to prevent road users from being killed or seriously injured. Typical road users include pedestrians, cyclists, motorists, vehicle passengers, horse riders, and passengers of on-roa ...
in frosty conditions. The salt helps reduce the freezing temperature of the ice, which can be effective in temperatures of up to -9°C. Roads that are not gritted during winter are much more dangerous for vehicles and foot traffic, so busy routes can be gritted several times per day under harsh snowy conditions.


How it works

Anyone may use a grit bin to clear a public path or road, though they are generally not intended for personal use. Typically, a
spade A spade is a tool primarily for digging consisting of a long handle and blade, typically with the blade narrower and flatter than the common shovel. Early spades were made of riven wood or of animal bones (often shoulder blades). After the ...
or
shovel A shovel is a tool used for digging, lifting, and moving bulk materials, such as soil, coal, gravel, snow, sand, or ore. Most shovels are hand tools consisting of a broad blade fixed to a medium-length handle. Shovel blades are usually made of ...
is used to spread a thin layer of grit onto the road surface, covering any snow or ice. The salt lowers the
melting point The melting point (or, rarely, liquefaction point) of a substance is the temperature at which it changes state from solid to liquid. At the melting point the solid and liquid phase exist in equilibrium. The melting point of a substance depends ...
of the snow causing it to melt (see sodium chloride). The grit component improves the friction between a vehicle's
tire A tire (American English) or tyre (British English) is a ring-shaped component that surrounds a wheel's rim to transfer a vehicle's load from the axle through the wheel to the ground and to provide traction on the surface over which t ...
s and the road. Some grit bins have a small compartment, which could be used for storing a spade or shovel. The one featured in the photograph at the top of the page is filled through the top hatch. The salt boxes of
Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...
,
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to it ...
,
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...
, have been in use since at least 1969, and have attracted attention on social media as a symbol of Baltimore culture. In Sweden, the bins contain mainly sand and sometimes sand mixed with salt. The construction and appearance of the bins are similar to bins in other countries.


Construction of grit bins

Grit bins were originally made of concrete, wood or even stone, though these are now increasingly being replaced by models constructed from plastic partly from safety concerns: vehicles/people hitting a plastic grit bin will suffer less damage. However, the lower weight of plastic makes grit bins easier to steal or tip over.


Problems

Grit bins can be subjected to
vandalism Vandalism is the action involving deliberate destruction of or damage to public or private property. The term includes property damage, such as graffiti and defacement directed towards any property without permission of the owner. The term ...
, such as
arson Arson is the crime of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, wat ...
. The lid can also be left open, leaving rain to dilute the rock salt in the mixture, leaving it much less effective than dry rock salt. In the United Kingdom, the local
county council A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Ireland The county councils created under British rule in 1899 continue to exist in Irela ...
is usually responsible for maintaining and refilling grit bins as well as spreading rock salt on the roads.Derbyshire council
In Norway, the problem with tipping grit bins over has been solved by making them large enough to hold about of grit, and to continually keep it topped up.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grit Bin Automotive safety Road transport Street furniture Snow removal