Discarded oyster shells may pull rare earth metals from polluted water

Discarded oyster shells may pull rare earth metals from polluted water

New research from a team at Trinity College Dublin has unearthed a cheap and environmentally friendly new option for removing pollutants from our water. The key? Oyster shells that would ordinarily end up in landfill sites after consumption. The research, just published in the journal Science of the Total Environment, shows that waste seashells—especially those from oysters—can capture and remove rare earth elements from polluted water. And what…

Seashell saviours - Trinity team finds discarded oyster shells can clean polluted water by removing ’rare earths’

26.03.2026 - New research from a team at Trinity College Dublin has unearthed a cheap and environmentally friendly new option for removing pollutants from our water. The key? Oyster shells that would ordinarily end up in landfill sites after consumption.