Aller au contenu
Results
Elcimaï group
04.10.2018

GIRUS GE has been commissioned to conduct a study on the recycling of shellfish waste in the Arcachon Basin

Oyster farming in the Arcachon Basin generates approximately 5,000 tons of shell waste per year, a figure that is expected to double in the coming years. To ensure its sustainable management, local institutions and economic stakeholders* are exploring the establishment of a recycling sector. They have commissioned a study on this from GIRUS GE, a subsidiary of the ELCIMAÏ group specializing in the circular economy and energy transition.

The economic activity of the Arcachon Basin is particularly dominated by oyster farming, which generates a significant amount of shellfish waste. Sustainable management of this waste is essential to preserve the environmental quality of the region.

The Arcachon Aquitaine Regional Shellfish Farming Committee (CRCAA), which operates a collective system for the collection and recycling of oyster shell waste, and the Arcachon Bay South Urban Community (COBAS), which is responsible for economic development and the collection and treatment of household and similar waste, have pooled their resources and roles in supporting local economic stakeholders to conduct a study whose primary objective is to create a local, self-sufficient, and sustainable system for the recovery of shell waste, thereby aligning perfectly with a circular economy approach. This study was commissioned to GIRUS GE.

The shellfish waste in question may come from consumption and operational losses, the maintenance of farms (already on land), or the rehabilitation of former farms (at sea). To date, this waste amounts to approximately 5,000 tons annually, but it could reach nearly 10,000 tons per year in the coming years due to future rehabilitation operations of old oyster farms planned by the CRCAA, in line with the objectives of the Arcachon Bay Marine Nature Park.

“GIRUS GE has focused on the technical and economic analysis of the entire sector, from the collection of shell waste to the final recovery of the product after treatment”

Olivier Perrin, Project Manager at GIRUS GE, Coordinator of Port, Maritime, and River Activities.

Tests involving the washing, drying, and grinding of shell waste were conducted and validated the technical feasibility of recycling these products in industrial sectors (construction, paint, and plastics, in particular), in addition to traditional agricultural sectors (calcium soil amendment and animal feed).

The process will need to incorporate the drying of the shells (possibly with the recovery of heat generated by another industrial process) and the grinding of the dried shells into different particle sizes. This pre-treatment would thus enable the identification of new markets that would complement the current recovery system and ensure the long-term viability of the shellfish waste collection and processing sector, taking into account the anticipated increase in the volume of waste to be processed.

A pilot study will be launched in 2019.

Led by the CRCAA and COBAS, the technical and steering committees are composed of the following institutional partners :