You may be able to put the table back on this midday, when the basket last night is not completely finished. But once swallowed, know that you can, in some places in Toulouse, recycle empty oyster shells! This is the project of a Toulouse-based Providentiel Coquillages start-up based in Ramonville-Sainte-Agne.
A few hours before Christmas, Daniel Moukoko came to drop off a large brown bin with yellow labels in the halls of Victor Hugo. With a certain pride since it is the culmination of his project: “it is a trash can to recycle oyster and scallop shells, it is an operation that is being carried out in Toulouse but also in Paris, but more in Toulouse because we are Toulouse” .
The idea is to encourage individuals to bring back their shells after the holidays – the founder of Providentiel Coquillages
Daniel Moukoko is an artist but he had entrepreneurial reflexes: “I saw one of my cousins giving shells to his chickens, I was like” ah yeah? Can it be used for that? “ And yes, the calcium present in the shells helps strengthen the bones of the chicks.
A new recycling habit to get used to
Less than 5% of the 150,000 tonnes of oysters consumed each year are recycled today. Kamel Chiboutz was well aware of this. So when he was contacted by Providentiel Coquillages, the manager of La Marinière on the Victor Hugo market in Toulouse was up for it.
He hopes to recover a lot – among the 2,000 oysters he has sold this week: “Customers just need to get used to not necessarily throwing out the oysters after consuming them. But it should be okay because some people already have these little habits of processing their oyster shells.”
For multiple uses
Crushed shells are not only used to feed chickens. They can also enter in the composition of cosmetic products, where mother-of-pearl is very popular, and natural fertilizers.
The shell particles, rich in trace elements, neutralize the acidity of the soil, promoting crops. They can also be used in gardening, as a natural mulch to protect plants.
– Marion BOTHOREL
In Toulouse, four fishmongers are partners : in Saint-Cyprien, the Fishmonger of happiness and two addresses at the Victor Hugo market – la marée Toulousaine and la Marinière. And then not far away, rue Bayard, chez Jeannot. You have until the beginning of January to deposit your typos at one of these four addresses.