The parkings of tomorrow will be more environmentalistsand this, thanks to our Oysters Charentaise-Maritime! Last Tuesday, June 28, the first parking slabs “Conchy l’Innov” have found their place in the heart of the main oyster port of Charente-Maritime, in Bourcefranc-Le-Chapus, a town located on the edge of the Island of Oléron.
Special feature of this coating: these plastic tiles are made from pockets and of oyster cups (used for oyster farming at sea) used. In the shape of cells, they fit together to form parking spaces. An innovation conceived and developed a year ago by the Charente-Maritime Regional Shellfish Committee and the Franche-Comté start-up Purple Alternative Surfacespecializing in soil permeability.
– Roman Brisard
An invention born on a boat
It was in Dunkirk that the “Conchy l’Innov” adventure began a year ago. Responsible for environment and town planning of the Charente-Maritime Regional Shellfish Committee, Charlotte Rhône climbs aboard the “Plastic Odyssey”, a scientific boat which raises awareness of marine pollution. There she met Pierre Quinonero and Sébastien Molas, co-founders of the company Purple Alternative Surface, based in Belfort.
– Roman Brisard
In the suitcases of the Charentaise-Maritime, oyster bags and cups for which she finds no possibility of recycling. “All professionals have stocks they don’t know what to do with. Opposite, the industrialists do not want it, since they find residues of algae, shells…“. The two Franche-Comté engineers decided to take up the challenge. A year of research and development later, the tests were finally conclusive: the first “Conchy l’Innov” slabs were born.
– Roman Brisard
Giving a second life to oyster waste
10 to 15 years old. This is the average lifespan of pockets and oyster cups. Waste which, without solution of valuation, systematically ended up in the recycling center. Today, a second life is offered to them. Pockets and cups are crushed, reduced to flakes, mixed with a raw material and then melted in a mould. The famous “Conchy l’innov” hexagonal slabs stand out, an element that serves as the basis for the creation of car parks.
– Roman Brisard
A very invention ecological : to train three parking spaces, about fifty of these slabs are necessary. Or the equivalent of1.3 tonnes of recycled plastic ! “It is a unique project that preserves our environment but also our working tool.“, Charlotte Rhône welcomes. But also our soils…
A remedy for soil artificialization
Far from the tar, these slabs also have the particularity of being permeable. Breakthroughs of seals and equipped withalveoli of storage, they allow the water toinfiltrate gently into the earth rather than flowing into rivers. The objective: to fight against floods. “Today France artificialises around 20,000 hectares. Evening the equivalent of the city of Marseille. Opposite, Europe has passed a law which aims to stop building constantly and waterproofing the soil”, explains Pierre Quinonero. “We are proud to participate in the ecological transition through the creation of this new coating“.
A solution, as a bonus, very easy to install: with these five-kilo slabs, a three-space car park can be installed in an hour and a half, watch in hand.