VIDEO. In Toulouse, on collection oyster and scallop shells to feed the hens
The start-up Providentiel Coquillages met up until January 5 to collect oyster and scallops. In partnership with four Toulouse fishmongers.
A small gesture for a great cause. How to start the year 2022 with the operation “I recycle my shells”, in partnership with four fishmongers from Toulouse? Simply by bringing back your oyster and scallop shells to the fishmonger of your choice. Bruno Aumettre, for example, from the Poissonnerie du Bonheur *. With such a name, it looks pretty good. “I started this collection with the customers a little before Christmas, on December 22, this merchant in fishmonger’s outfit. The association is taking place to offer me this initiative and I immediately accepted. It reminded me of my childhood when my grandmother kept oyster shells, crushed them with pestles and powerful ones to chickens to strengthen their bones and eggs ”.
Near his fishmonger, a collector’s bin is installed to house the precious shells: “this morning, customers had already left shells at the door. This is to say if it works well ”.
A bin collected once every two weeks. : “We must insist on the cleanliness of the shells, supports this fervent environmentalist. They must be impeccable to avoid pestilential odors ”.
Crushed oyster shells are food for chickens
How did this idea come about? “It all started with a conversation with my grandmother, remembers Daniel Moukokop, founder of the start-up Providentiel Coquillages, telling me that the powder of these shells was also excellent in agriculture as soil fertilizer. I then understood that waste could become wealth ”.
Daniel and Gaétan, a friend in the loop, visited the oyster farmers of the Thau Basin who were also looking for a solution to enhance their shellfish: “This idea really interested them. Instead of these shells ending up in the recycling center, we make real added value out of them and we use a powder with multiple uses for the good of the planet ”.
With 150,000 tonnes of oysters produced annually, including 60,000 during the holidays, less than 10% is recycled. “From now on, the individual buys his basket or his tray and after tasting and rinsing, brings back the shells, thus becoming part of a circular economy. A bit like glass ”. Apparently given the fishmongers’ bins, the people of Toulouse are sensitive to the operation. “It remains a real challenge but on a good hope”.
* Also Chez Jeannot (Joan of Arc), La marinière (Victor-Hugo market), La marée Toulousaine (Carmelite market).