What to Do With Oyster Shells: 10 Ways to Recycle Them
In short: don't throw away the shells from your festive oysters. Oyster shells can become place cards, salt cellars, candles or a garland, a source of calcium for hens, a fertiliser for plants or a natural descaler. Some brands even turn them into sunglasses, clothes or cosmetics. Here are our ideas for giving them a second life.
The essentials
| Use | Ideas | Worth knowing |
|---|---|---|
| Party decor | Place cards, salt and pepper cellars, homemade candles, a garland with wooden beads | Wash the shells, then paint them or decorate them with a felt pen |
| Garden and home | Calcium for laying hens, fertiliser for plants, descaler | Crush the shells or reduce them to powder for the garden |
| Recycling | Sunglasses (Friendly Frenchy), jumper (Faguo), wetsuit (Soöruz), cosmetics (Perlucine) | As a last resort, take them to the recycling centre |
The final stretch of the Christmas menu is here! Foie gras, salmon, capon and oysters may well be on it. If oysters are the stars of your festive meal, don't throw their shells away. Wondering what to do with oyster shells? In this article, we have found a few tips for recycling the shells from your end-of-year meals.
DIY ideas to decorate your home with oyster shells
With a little makeover, oyster shells bring a seaside spirit and a festive air to a party table.
Have you ever thought of using oyster shells to decorate your home? After a little makeover, they bring a seaside decor spirit and add a festive touch to a reception table.
Place cards for your New Year's Eve dinner
After eating oysters at Christmas, reuse the shells for your New Year's Eve dinner! Create a festive table decoration and seat your guests with handmade place cards. To do so, wash the oyster shells and write each guest's name inside the shell with a felt pen. To match your table decor, you can also paint the shells in the colour of your choice and add glitter for a 100% festive look. An easy decor DIY!
A salt and pepper cellar to season your dishes
To complete the decoration of your party table, offer your guests original containers for your condiments. Here again, oyster shells are ideal for serving salt, pepper and other spices. As with the place cards, decorate them to your taste and add small spoons so your guests can help themselves with elegance.
Homemade candles to warm up your home
For a cosy, seaside look, make your own candles with oyster shells. Discover every step for making homemade candles in our article DIY decor with seashells. For a festive occasion or simply to finish off your decor, they add a warm, natural touch to your home.
A seaside-inspired decorative garland
Want to complete your wall decor with an original nautical hanging? Make a decorative garland with small wooden beads and oyster shells. For this handmade garland, you will need a cord, wooden beads, paint and oyster shells.
Paint the wooden beads in the colour of your choice and drill a hole at each end of the oyster shells. Then thread the beads onto the cord and tie the end of the cord to the tip of a shell. Repeat until you reach the length you want. This garland will decorate a table, a wall or a mantelpiece just as well. Will you try this pretty seaside decor DIY?
What oyster shells can do for the garden and the home
Crushed or reduced to powder, oyster shells give hens calcium and plants trace elements, and can help fight limescale.
Decor is not the only way to recycle oyster shells. Here are a few ideas for using their natural properties, indoors and out.
Calcium for hens
If you keep hens in your garden, this tip is for you. Oyster shells are an important source of calcium, which laying hens need. Adding crushed oyster shells to their feed helps strengthen their bones and the shells of their eggs. Remember to rinse the shells well before crushing them.
A natural fertiliser for plants
If you have green fingers, here is our second tip: use oyster shells as fertiliser. On a balcony or in a garden, oyster shell powder mixed into the soil makes a very good fertiliser for your plants, thanks to the many trace elements in the shells. To reduce them to powder, put them in the oven or the fireplace.
A helping hand against limescale
After looking after the outdoors, oyster shells can also help you deal with limescale. Place a rinsed oyster shell directly in the appliance you want to descale (kettle, coffee machine, washing machine, toilet and so on).
Give your oyster shells a new life with local, innovative brands
Sunglasses, a jumper, a wetsuit and cosmetics: French brands turn oyster shells into raw material.
In recent years, some fine initiatives have appeared that give oyster shells a whole new life through recycling.
Sunglasses made from shells
Today, oyster shells can have several destinies. The French brand Friendly Frenchy makes handmade sunglasses frames from crushed shells collected on French coasts (oyster, mussel, clam, scallop and more).
Clothes and wetsuits
The fashion world is interested in this raw material too. You can now wear clothes made with oyster shell powder, such as the Lucio jumper from Faguo or the Soöruz wetsuit in Oysterprene. The surf brand has replaced the limestone found in wetsuits, whose extraction is very energy-intensive, with oyster shell powder, a natural and eco-friendly alternative.
Cosmetics made from shell powder
Rich in minerals, oyster shell also appeals to the cosmetics industry, which has made use of its benefits for skin, hair and teeth. The brand Perlucine has launched a range of cosmetics (balm, washing powder, toothpaste and more) made from oyster shell powder collected on Breton beaches. A natural alternative for looking after yourself and the environment.
Feel free to drop your Christmas oyster shells off at the recycling centre: you may one day cross paths with one of them again.
As you have seen, oyster shells offer a wealth of possibilities. If you have eaten plenty of oysters this Christmas, think about giving their shells a second life.
The Oyster collection, as white as an oyster shell
Frequently asked questions
What to do with oyster shells after the festive season?
Decorate with them (place cards, salt cellar, candles, garland), crush them to give hens calcium or make a fertiliser, use them against limescale, or take them to the recycling centre so they can be recycled.
How do you make place cards with oyster shells?
Wash the shells, write each guest's name inside with a felt pen, and paint them or add glitter to match your table decor.
Can you give oyster shells to hens?
Yes, crushed and added to their feed: they are an important source of calcium for laying hens and strengthen the shells of their eggs. Remember to rinse the shells well.
How do you use oyster shells as fertiliser?
Reduce them to powder by putting them in the oven or the fireplace, then mix this powder into the soil of your plants, on a balcony or in a garden.
What is oyster shell used for once recycled?
It is used to make sunglasses frames (Friendly Frenchy), clothes (Faguo), wetsuits (Soöruz) or cosmetics (Perlucine).
Sources and brands mentioned
- Friendly Frenchy - Shell sunglasses
- Faguo - Lucio jumper
- Soöruz - Oysterprene
- Perlucine
- Bungalow Blue Interiors
- Badger and Birch
- Grit and Grace Studio
