Kansas Green Guide Your Bi-Weekly Guide to Sustainable Living

Tossing Eggshells? October 25, 2013

We have all heard plenty about the health benefits of the incredible, edible egg, but the compact little cases they come in do more than just carry your chickens before they hatch. Although eggshells are beneficial for the soil, most of us dont think twice about tossing our shells after theyve been cracked open. In fact, the U.S. dumps about 150,000 tons of eggshells in the garbage every year. Food waste has become one of the biggest parts of the municipal solid waste stream and keeping your eggshells out of the trash is one small way to help reduce food waste. Why not just throw them away? Because these super shells are pretty spectacular. For starters, theyre made up of 93 to 97 percent calcium carbonate, plus they contain nitrogen and phosphoric acid, so theyre beneficial for the soil. Here are just a few uses for them outside the kitchen: 1. Fertilizer for the garden. Rinse and dry eggshells, grind them up and mix them into the soil. Theyll give your plants a healthy boost of sulfur, calcium, phospho rus and potassium. 2. Snail deterrent. Crushed eggshells are kryptonite to snails and slugs! Loosely crush eggshells (you want them to have rough, jagged edges) and scatter them in a circular pattern around your plants. The shells sharp edges will keep snails and slugs from crossing to get to your plants. 3. Better compost. Its common for gardeners to add lime to their compost because it has calcium carbonate, which helps balance out acidity. As mentioned earlier, thats the main ingredient in eggshells, so instead of purchasing lime, use eggshells instead. After drying the shells, crush them into small pieces and add them to your compost. To dry the shells, set them outside and use the suns natural heat and warmth, or heat them in an oven in wet or cooler weather.

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Dissemination of Kansas Green Guide by the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, a governmental agency, is solely for the non-commercial purpose of informing and educating the public. References to specific companies do not constitute a KDHE endorsement. If you have any questions, please contact the Bureau of Waste Management, at info@kansasgreenteams.org. Source: Earth911