Ever wondered what to do with your left-over shells after you had your delicious snack of walnuts, hazelnuts or pistachios? You don’t have to just throw it away. There are many ways to utilize those little, hard husks. Using the shells of the nuts in your life has one major advantage – it is extremely environmentally friendly. Let’s be honest here. A lot of the materials like plastic we use in our day to day lives are not very eco-conscious. Well, the good news is that by using nut shells as a substitute you can stray from reaching for many of the plastic-made items. Working with shells can also be very fun, creative and interactive. The outside armor of our favorite nuts can be transformed into all kinds of useful items for your house, pet, garden to your beauty regime and even the environment herself.
1.Compost made of nutshells
If you want to spruce up your garden, an ideal way to create your own compost is adding some nut shells to it. Good compost is supposed to be made of green and brown ingredients that can break down to carbon and nitrogen. Just store your nut shells in a bag until you have at least 1/2 gallon. You must grind them down as it makes the decomposing faster. Mix the nutshells with dried leaves and other green ingredients. Add some soil and water and enjoy your homemade compost.
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2.Kitty litter with nutshells
We all know that our pets deserve the best. But what is better than giving your beloved animal natural, chemical-free litter that is also good for the environment? Although now there are brands that make a walnut-based litter, you can also make it by yourself. It is actually quite easy. You can also use peanut shells. Soak them in water and add some biodegradable soap. After they are dried out add some baking soda and you have your pet’s needs covered.
3.Exfoliation with nutshells
After you have taken care of your favorite furry friend it is your time to get pampered. Now, ladies know how important it is to clean your face and exfoliate it enough in order to keep the skin fresh and plump. Unfortunately, many of the store-bought exfoliators contain microbeads, made with plastic. If you want to be environmentally friendly, you have a better suggestion in order for you to have a squeaky clean skin – nutshells. Finely grind some walnut or hazelnut shells and mix them with organic, illiquid soap. You can use your imagination and even add some essential oils like lavender for a nice, suiting aroma.
4.Packing using nutshells
Styrofoam is a standard packing material that we all use. Even though it is very convenient, the plastic that it contains is dangerous not only to the environment but to us – people as well. A good alternative to the Styrofoam though are nut shells. They are perfect for a loose-fill packaging.
5.Walnut blasting
There are a couple of ways to get your intake valves clean, but the method of using pressured air in order to inject very finely ground walnut shells works pretty well. They are soft so they will not be damaging, but hard enough to be able to remove the carbonizing. It is a very quick and easy.
6.Kindling with nutshells
Nutshells make perfect kindling for your fireplace, as they have a wood-like structure mixed with the oils in the nuts. This combination makes them literally explosive.
7.Gift box made of walnut shells
The way you wrap your present is just as important as the gift itself. And it is always more precious when you have made the wrapping by yourself, isn’t it? Well, if you are good with your hands and you love DIY, why not use the little walnut shells as a box? You can put a little ring or other small jewelry. Even a simple message, written for a loved one could be a magical surprise. Carefully crap the walnut shell in two half. We love the idea of painting the wood-like surface of the walnut with some gold paint for example. Finish it all with a cute little ribbon wrapped around the nut.
8.Polishing with nutshell powder
The positive thing about using walnut shells is that they are very durable, but are also gentle and soft. So they work wonders on your all jewelry for example. Use some ground walnuts to clean them and bring your rings, bracelets, and necklace to life again.
9.Power source from macadamia shells
A power plant in Queensland, Australia is the first to create power with the help of nut shells. This is done by burning the husks from a macadamia nut in 6WM steam boilers. 5500MWh of renewable energy is produced for a year. All this by minimizing greenhouse gas emissions
10.Clean the environment
A new research has shown that using pistachio nutshells and tires could help in removing mercury emissions from plants. Coal-fired plants are the main reason for the production of mercury – a toxic, harmful material. The researchers tried to determine which kind of materials are best at absorbing the mercury emissions. They tried Illinois high-sulfur coal, waste tires and pistachio shells. It turned out that the tires and the shells had five times more absorbing power than the coal.
11.Flavor your BBQ with nuts shells
By adding some nutshells like pecans or walnuts to your barbecue you can give a new taste to your stake.
12.Potting and drainage using nutshells
Use some crushed nutshell on the bottom of your pots. They are good for absorbing liquid so it will help drainage.
13.Filler
When walnuts shells are ground into flour, they can be used as thickeners in paints, rubber, and cosmetics.
14.Using nutshells on slippery ice
The worst thing in the winter is the ice. To avoid the dangers of an accidental slipping on your sidewalk or stairs, just sprinkle some nut shells over the ice.
