Do you love long walks on the beach? What about picking up seashells? During your last beach vacation, you probably weren’t thinking, these seashells would make a great driveway. But now you might!

As it turns out, seashells make an excellent environmentally friendly driveway material. But not in their full, just-off-the-shore form. For driveway and landscaping, seashells are crushed into uniform sizes.

Read on to learn the benefits of having a crushed shell driveway, giving new life to those shells you pick up on vacation.

Sustainable

There’s no shortage of sea creatures who call shells home. Rather than littering the beach, they can be repurposed to make a beautiful driveway. The large supply of shells makes crushed shell one of the more interesting sustainable driveway materials!

Beautiful

When crushed shells first arrive, they’re often gray in color. Over time, the sun bleaches them, turning them to a stunning white. This aesthetic is so signature to the beaches of southern Massachusetts that crushed shell driveways are often called “the Cape Cod driveway.”

Good for the environment

There are plenty of benefits to having a non-concrete driveway. But did you know that your driveway material choice could actually help the planet?

Poured concrete driveways create runoff, preventing water from soaking into the ground and nourishing the soil. Additionally, runoff can erode or damage other parts of the landscape.

Porous materials like gravel or crushed shell allow water to reach the ground below. And with that water comes nutrients. Crushed shells contain minerals that help nourish and enrich the soil.

Low maintenance

As you drive on a crushed shell driveway, it further breaks down the shells. This creates a more level driving surface. Then, because the water drains evenly, there is a lower chance of developing potholes and ruts that damage cars.

Consider a crushed shell driveway and become one of the many to have a gorgeous, environmentally friendly driveway today!

Bray Topsoil & Gravel does not offer seashells as an option for gravel cover.