N. CAROLINA Salt Reclamation Project

Timeline:

2 days

Salt reclaimed:

200 tons

Disposal cost avoided:

$15,000+

Replacement cost avoided:

$20,000+

Result:

Fully usable road salt ready for immediate deployment

Road salt is hygroscopic—it absorbs moisture from rain, humidity, and even air. When stored outdoors without proper cover, salt stockpiles go through a destructive cycle:

What happens to exposed salt:

1. Moisture absorption – Rain and humidity penetrate the pile
2. Dissolution – Surface salt dissolves into brine
3. Recrystallization – Sun and heat evaporate water, leaving larger salt crystals
4. Compression – Weight of the pile presses layers together
5. Solidification – Over time, the entire mass fuses into a concrete-hard brick

Why this is a problem:

• Salt spreading equipment requires free-flowing granules
• Solid masses won't feed into hoppers or augers
• You can't break it up by hand—it's rock-hard
• Standard equipment (front loaders, shovels) just bounces off the surface

The client had stored their winter salt supply outdoors during a particularly wet season. By the time they needed it, the stockpile had turned into one enormous 200-ton block.

Their options:

• Option 1: Dispose of it as waste and buy new salt ($35,000+ total cost)
• Option 2: Leave it and operate without sufficient de-icing material (unacceptable safety risk)
• Option 3: Find someone who could break it down and restore it (no one does this... except us)
  

Step 1: Site Assessment and Equipment Selection

We evaluated the salt brick's size, hardness, and location. The assessment confirmed:

• Material was extremely hard—comparable to low-grade concrete
• Needed aggressive grinding, not just breaking or crushing
• Had to avoid generating excessive dust (environmental and safety concern)
• Client needed the salt in original granular form, not powder

Equipment selected:

• Skid-steer loader with high hydraulic flow (30+ GPM)
• Heavy-duty grinding attachment (rock cutter-style head)
• Dust suppression sprayer (water mist to control airborne particles)

This combination had worked on similar hard-packed materials before. We mobilized immediately.

Step 2: Mechanical Grinding

The grinding attachment works like an industrial rock crusher:

• Rotating carbide teeth bite into the salt brick
• Hydraulic pressure forces the grinder deeper into the material
• Broken chunks are pushed aside while the grinder continues forward
• Process repeats in overlapping passes until entire mass is reduced

Why grinding works better than breaking:

• Controlled particle size – Produces coarse granules, not powder
• Complete breakdown – No large chunks left behind
• Uniform consistency – Salt flows evenly through spreader equipment
• Fast processing – Continuous operation without stopping to reposition

We worked methodically through the 200-ton pile:

• Day 1: Ground through the top and outer layers (highest compression)
• Day 2: Finished interior sections and processed remaining material

The salt was fed directly into a large storage hopper as we worked—ready for immediate use.

Material reclamation – Restoring unusable materials to functional state

Specialized grinding – Heavy-duty mechanical processing

Waste minimization – Eliminating disposal through creative solutions

Cost optimization – Saving clients money by avoiding unnecessary expenses

Rapid mobilization – 2-day turnaround from call to completion

Cost savings: Even accounting for our service fee, reclamation cost a fraction of disposal + replacement. The client saved tens of thousands of dollars.



Speed: Disposal would have required contracting with haulers, scheduling landfill access, and waiting for replacement salt delivery. We finished in 2 days.

Sustainability: Disposal wastes perfectly good material. Reclamation keeps usable resources in circulation—better for budgets and the environment.

Problem-solving mindset: Most contractors see a disposal job because that's what they know. We saw an opportunity to deliver more value by thinking differently.

Equipment advantage: Our grinding attachment isn't common in the waste industry. We invested in specialized tools specifically to handle problems other contractors can't solve.

U.S. Waste Industries provides material reclamation and waste recovery for:

Municipal:

• Public works departments
• Road maintenance crews
• Parks and recreation facilities
• Water and wastewater treatment plants

Industrial:

• Chemical processing
• Manufacturing plants
• Mining and mineral processing
• Construction materials suppliers

Commercial:

• Landscape supply companies
• Material distribution centers
• Agricultural operations
  

Help us give you an accurate quote:

Have material you think is waste but might be salvageable?

Examples we've handled:



• Solidified bulk materials
• Contaminated recyclables
• Off-spec industrial products
• Hardened or crystallized chemicals