Fertilizers, cosmetics ... In Toulouse, we recycle oyster shells

While 130,000 tonnes of oysters are produced each year, nearly half of which during the holiday season, only 10% of the shells are recycled.

To encourage traders and consumers not to throw them away, the start-up Providentiel Coquillage has therefore set up the “I recycle my shells” operation until January 5.

"This is the peak of consumption and we wanted to take action aimed at the general public", explains the founder of the company, Daniel Moukoko, who has therefore entered into partnerships with four fishmongers in Toulouse and one in Paris to collect shells. oysters and scallops. "It's a way of raising awareness and the professionals were thrilled", assures the entrepreneur.

This is confirmed by Éric Binazet, manager of Chez Jeannot, a seafood restaurant and fishmonger in Toulouse.

For the trader, this type of partnership could extend over the winter months.

“To my astonishment, the customers really played the game by bringing the washed shells back from their trays,” he says with satisfaction next to the collection bin.

We are also trying to do it a bit in the restaurant.

It avoids by a lot of waste and the bins weigh less.

I had no idea that shells could be used for so many things.

"

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Indeed, beyond this one-off operation, Providentiel Coquillages, created in 2017, is working on the valuation of these shells.

“The idea came to me when I saw my cousin feeding his chickens with crushed oyster shells,” says Daniel Moukoko.

I understood that there was something to be done.

A partnership has in particular been established with the Mediterranean oyster farmer union.

Very concentrated on the agricultural market, with feed for chickens or fertilizer for which it is looking for distributors, the start-up also ensures that it is in the research phase for the cosmetics market.

“The oyster can replace microbeads in different products.

It is biodegradable and natural.

A merchant site should also see the light of day soon.