Near Dijon. This town collects oyster shells, here’s what it will do with them

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During the holidays, many oyster, shellfish and snail shells are thrown in the trash, when they could be used as a excellent fertilizer rich in calcium for agricultural soils.

For the first time in the agglomeration of Dijon, the town of Chevigny-Saint-Sauveur, in partnership with Dijon Métropole, is launching an innovative operation of collection and of reuse of these shells, until January 6.

An ecological gesture

“This is an unprecedented initiative in the Dijon metropolitan area,” underlines the mayor of Chevigny-Saint-Sauveur Guillaume Ruet. “During the Christmas and New Year holidays, 60,000 tonnes of shellfish are consumed in a week in France. These are organic wastes that are not easily recycled, nor decompose not and which are difficult to cremate. Every year, thousands of kilos of waste could be valued differently. »

Inspired by similar actions carried out in certain coastal municipalities, this operation offers a virtuous process : “What comes from the earth returns to the earth,” the mayor philosophizes.

Useful organic waste

The objective is to collect this organic waste to give it to a local farmer in Tréclun, in Côte-d’Or. “The shells collected in Chevigny-Saint-Sauveur will be crushed and mixed with the ground. This will allow to enrich the land in calcium, improve their structure, promote microbial activity and regulate pH” explains Guillaume Ruet.

In addition to agricultural benefits, this approach is part of a global ecological vision : “The town of Chevigny-Saint-Sauveur wishes to be an example in terms of ecology. It is also our educational duty to support residents to teach them ecological actions. By reusing these shells, we reduce the volume of household waste to be treated and contribute to a circular and sustainable economy. »

A low-cost initiative

According to the mayor, this operation does not have a big financial impact on public finances: “We bet it will work. It costs the community nothing, or almost nothing. Furthermore, this is part of the obligation waste sorting implemented since 2024.” Thus, the municipality distributed 1,000 bio-buckets to residents to facilitate sorting.

Residents of Chevigny-Saint-Sauveur are encouraged to drop off their shells at one of the following five collection points:

• City Hall car park, Place du Général de Gaulle
• Avenue de la République, opposite the Liberty Bar
• Ez-Allouères car park
• Allée du Breuil
• Carrefour Market car park

But this operation is not limited to the municipality: “It is open to other municipalitiesbecause I believe that everyone’s civic sense should have no boundaries” underlines Guillaume Ruet.

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