• The start-up Greenfib, based in Vienne, has created a 100% bio-based material based on castor seeds, reeds and… oyster shells.

  • For the first time this year, this material was used to create Christmas decorations, which was 3D printed in particular for the city of Bordeaux.

  • At the same time, the oyster shell collection sector is being organized, with 14 collection points set up in Bordeaux for the end of year celebrations.

If we have still talked a lot about the real / fake Christmas tree this year in Bordeaux, an initiative has gone more unnoticed in the novelties proposed by the ecological municipality.

Did you know that the Christmas decorations were made by 3D printing, from biobased materials containing in particular oyster shell residues?

This is one of the new outlets for this increasingly recycled shellfish, most often in powder form, to feed chickens, fertilize farmland, compose cosmetics or even to make materials used for departmental roads, for filling underground quarries or for floor coverings.

Greenfib, a 100% biobased material

For the Christmas lights in Bordeaux (and Besançon), the oyster shells used in their manufacture do not come from Arcachon, but from Oléron, La Rochelle, or Brittany. "We want to be consistent with our approach, and our objective being to optimize our trips, we use it as close as possible to our places of production" explains Cyr Dioré, co-founder of the start-up Greenfib, based in Chasseneuil-du-Poitou near Futuroscope (Vienna).

Greenfib is a material used in the manufacture of various objects, 100% biobased. Invented in 2011, the material has only been manufactured and marketed since 2018. “The material is made up of three main ingredients, explains Cyr Dioré: castor bean - the basic material -, wood or reed, and talc. . We discovered the oyster shell two years ago, by chance in a 3D lab in Lorient. We then thought that we could replace our talc with oyster shell, and it works well, so it has entered our manufacturing base, even if for the moment, it is only a few percent. "

Greenfib material can be “extruded, injected, 3D printed…” lists the co-founder of the start-up.

"For example, some 40,000 spectacle frames were made with our material by the OxO brand, in February we will have pens that will be released in partnership with a major brand, then phone chargers by the end of the year. 2022… We have a lot of projects ”enthuses the co-founder of the start-up.

Almost two tonnes of material were used to make Christmas decorations

The Legrand Illuminations company produced the Christmas decorations, using Greenfib material.

"It is therefore a double innovation: on the manufacturing process, and on the 100% biobased material, insists Cyr Dioré.

It's a good start since it represents almost two tonnes of material, and we now have plenty of projects with other cities.

"

"Greenfib is positioned as an alternative to plastic products, and it comes from natural raw materials that do not compete with food", for its part, is delighted by the town hall of Bordeaux, which installed 10 km of light garlands this year.

The collection sector is getting organized

At the same time, the oyster shell collection sector is being organized. After a first experience at the end of 2020, the collection is renewed, and even amplified this year, in Bordeaux and in the Arcachon basin. “Every year, and especially during the end of the year celebrations, 130,000 tonnes of oysters are consumed in France,” recalls the Gironde departmental council. Bulky in the bins and difficult to incinerate, the shells represent a very important cost in the collection of household waste, while there are recycling alternatives for these shells. "

All the recycling centers in the Arcachon basin therefore offer collection bins dedicated to shells, until January 2.

In Bordeaux and Le Bouscat, the Coquilles association takes care of recovery, with collection points at the Halles de Bacalan, the Chartrons market, or even in Darwin.

Nearly two tons of shells should be collected in Bordeaux

“We went from a collection point in Bordeaux in 2020, to fourteen this year thanks to a request from the city to install at least one collection point per district, as well as from the municipality of Bouscat which wanted three, ”says Bénédicte Salzes, coordinator of the Coquilles association.

“There is a lot of awareness and communication work to be done, in particular to explain to consumers not to throw away plastic bags, toothpicks and lemons with the shells…” recalls Bénédicte Salzes.

The association also collects scallops, cockles, clams, clams, and almonds.

Subcontracted to the Bordeaux association Les Détritivores, the collection should yield nearly two tonnes of shellfish at the end of December 31.

They will be used primarily for the production of materials for coverings or furniture.

Planet

Bordeaux: What if the oyster shell was the material of tomorrow for the manufacture of mortar?

In Charente-Maritime, the second life of oysters

  • La Rochelle

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  • Christmas

  • Materials

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