But do you know the incredible power of oysters?

Farming a billion oysters by 2035 to regenerate New York Harbor. A project that unites young people, schools and restaurateurs and that grows every year. It all started in 2012, when Hurricane Sally hit New York , injuring several hundred people and damaging homes and businesses. At that time , aquaculture and oyster farms that cover an area of ​​90,000 hectares in those parts were also seriously affected.

In addition to providing food, these oysters also have the ability to filter water, purifying it from nitrates and metals, toxins and bacteria : just think that a single oyster is able to filter up to 50 liters of water a day. Not to mention that oysters also act as natural breakwaters along the coasts , reducing the force with which hurricane waves and other storms hit the mainland. For this reason, the Billion Oyster project is committed to recreating a sustainable ecosystem around the oyster beds , in an attempt to restore their anti-erosion barrier, also attracting other species in order to rebuild the food chain.

The project is based on a synergy of economic actors and volunteers. Restaurateurs who buy oysters in different areas of the United States then donate the shells to volunteers who raise the larvae before transferring them to the sea. The method is working and we are starting to see the first results. After all, oysters, like other molluscs, have long been the focus of associations and companies that deal with recycling and environmental sustainability. The consumption of molluscs is increasingly widespread throughout the world: in France alone, 150,000 tons of oyster shells are discarded every year, but consumption is also very high in Italy. The shells of consumed animals therefore represent a good test: if simply dispersed in the environment they pollute, but if correctly disposed of they can give rise to new materials and surprising new uses.

In addition to restoring the breakwaters and sewage treatment plants in New York Harbor, the surfwear company Soöruz in Charente-Maritimes, La Rochelle, France, has obtained an innovative insulating foam from oyster shell powder to be inserted between the inner and outer fabric of surf suits, making them waterproof and extremely comfortable. In 2018, the first oyster shell crushing tests were carried out in La Rochelle, and the results of the research have led to the creation of two new materials, Biöprene (a mix of oyster powder, natural rubber, sugar cane, non-food vegetable oil) and Oysterprene©.

The process consists of replacing limestone with the natural, recycled and renewable product obtained from grinding oyster shells. This solution allows not to lose the technical efficiency of the wetsuits, promoting environmental sustainability without additional costs for the customer. From the recycling of shells, the Ovive company, also in Charente-Maritimes, obtains instead bathroom objects and frames for fashionable glasses. While in Sardinia, in Olbia, the P.ri.s.ma.Med project involves the reuse of oyster shells , clams and mussels to create objects for design and fashion, and a powder to be used in agriculture as a soil pH corrector for growing vegetables.

And it doesn't end there. In England, the London restaurant chain The Wright Brothers, specializing in seafood, has launched a gin also made with Carlingford oyster shells, Half Shell Gin. For oyster gin, oysters are cold-macerated in neutral alcohol and then distilled, balancing the flavor with seaweed and other ingredients, such as juniper and Amalfi lemon. Also worth mentioning is the project of some French researchers who are transforming discarded oyster shells into eco-friendly cement with significantly lower CO₂ emissions. Among the ongoing experiments , Oyster2Life undoubtedly deserves a mention, a project presented by the team of students from the Polytechnic University of Milan , winner of the seventh edition of the National Competition of Enactus Italia 2023, which aims to reconstitute the marine ecosystem through the reuse of oyster shells as well as raising awareness among the population on the importance of preserving our seas.

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