Oysters are a common seafood enjoyed by billions of people around the globe. However, researchers are now saying that one day they could be turned into something we can build with.
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00:00These are oysters, a common seafood enjoyed by billions of people around the globe.
00:07However, researchers are now saying, one day these could be turned into something more like this.
00:12The developers of the material are calling it Oystercrete,
00:15and they say the bioalternative might also help humanity with our carbon problem.
00:19This is Mukha C. Surayotan, who first came up with the idea while studying architecture at University College London.
00:25She says she was tasked with finding alternative building materials.
00:28When she passed the Borough Market, where she said they threw out some 5,000 oyster shells every day.
00:34So, we sort of took that shells and like saw the potential in the shells,
00:41and it has the same chemical composition as limestone, so that's how Oystercrete began.
00:51The process involves crushing the shells and mixing them with sand and clay.
00:54However, the resulting Oystercrete is still 80% oyster shells.
00:59Currently, their projects are small, creating objects like trays and furniture,
01:02but they have their site set much larger.
01:05So, these are sort of our beginning point,
01:09but the main goal, we want to test it in a larger scale application,
01:15like for architectural wall cladding, interior design.
01:20The hope is that someday, alternatives like this might replace traditional concrete,
01:24of which the manufacturing contributes 6% of global CO2 emissions.