How can I reuse or recycle dressed crab shells?
I hope everyone had a great Easter weekend – we don’t celebrate Easter but we do celebrate long weekends so had a great few days off ;)
On Sunday, we went to the Leeds Farmers Market (held on the 1st & 3rd Sundays of each month in the outside market bit) and amongst the other yummables, I got some dressed crabs one of the Whitby fish guys – mmm, meat in served its own carcass (or at least, the carcass of its prettiest unlucky fellow species-mate).
They’ve already been reused once already as a kooky serving dish but any ideas for reuses or recycling ideas now? I suspect there will be some overlap with mussel shells – and like with those, there will be different answers for people who only have them occasionally (like me) and people who have a lot to get rid of regularly (like restaurants).
So any suggestions?
(Photo by david.nikonvscanon)
Crab shells are organic – they decay on their own! Just crush them up and sprinkle them on your garden. I wouldn’t keep them around the house as they stink once they start to decay…
To follow up on JHW’s comment. fertilizer is the best way to recycle shells. If you have a barbecue or other open fire, putting the shells in will reduce them to quicklime. Sprinkle this on your garden will give a quick fix of calcium and also combat acidic soil. If you do this, be sure not to burn your hands with the residue – it is highly alkali.
This process was used in Australia to generate lime for housing mortar in colonial days. Shells are also used as a source of alkali in the Andes for the liberation of alkaloids from coca leaves, but the authorities in your area probably would take a dismal view of this use.