The group points out that the substance, the potassium salt of formic acid, is as efficient a substance for ice removal as traditional highway salt, but it has the added benefit of being biodegradable.
Although the price is 15 percent higher than ordinary highway salt, the formates are more cost-effective for society, as they reduce vehicle corrosion damage, the league points out.
The group says that 500 ground water areas are in danger of being harmed by human activities. Each winter an estimated 90,000 tonnes of highway salt are used on Finnish roads, while 60 percent of household water needs in Finland are met from ground water resources.
World Water Day - Waste Water Week
The aim of World Water Day is to draw attention to the fact that more than a billion people around the world live without clean drinking water. The World Food Programme calculates that at the present rate 1.8 billion people will live in areas with an inadequate water supply.
The worst hit are the world's poorest countries. Finns consume an average of 155 litres of water per capita each day. In many African countries, people have to make do with less than ten litres a day per capita.
In Finland, the day is also the first day of Wastewater Week, where officials hope to promote the purification of waste water especially in rural areas.
Sewage from sparsely-populated areas is seen as the second-largest source of excessive algae growth in Finnish waters, right after agriculture.
Regulations coming into force four years from now state that, all houses not linked to a municipal sewage system will be required to have individual treatment facilities.
