Alternative Uses for Pistachio Shells?

Ok, this is probably a stupid question...

I just bought a mess of pistachio's because the co-op near me in Olympia has a good price on them. I could eat pistachio's all day and never get sick of them, but I feel like the shells will take FOREVER to break down in my compost bin. My compost does well with most kitchen scraps, but I often have trouble with eggshells if I forget to hand crush them before they go on the pile. I'm thinking it doesn't stay hot enough with just kitchen scraps, so I constantly have eggshells and other hard materials taking a long time to break down. I'd love to start a humanure pile, which I'm sure would gobble up eggshells and pistachio shells and anything else I threw in there, but I'm currently renting and don't think I could talk my landlord into that. So, I'm stuck with about a half pound of pistachio shells, and I'm afraid they will probably last longer than I would if I throw them in the compost.

Does anyone have any other suggestions for what I could do with them? I prefer something practical as I'm not the most artistic person in the world, but I'm open to anything.

The first thing that comes to mind is grit for chickens if you run them through a mill. Not exactly a passive system though.

Our dog has been chewing on the shells that fall on the floor...

Also, they are quite flammable, so can help in starting wood fires, though they need a bit of creativity to set them up to burn.

For fire starter, maybe roll them up into newspaper? I've heard of people using them for smoking foods. How about drainage in a flower pot? Would also be a good replacement if you're missing pieces from your monopoly game. Imagine the empire you could build with an endless supply of hotels.

Kyle Williams wrote:Ok, this is probably a stupid question...

I just bought a mess of pistachio's because the co-op near me in Olympia has a good price on them. I could eat pistachio's all day and never get sick of them, but I feel like the shells will take FOREVER to break down in my compost bin. My compost does well with most kitchen scraps, but I often have trouble with eggshells if I forget to hand crush them before they go on the pile. I'm thinking it doesn't stay hot enough with just kitchen scraps, so I constantly have eggshells and other hard materials taking a long time to break down. I'd love to start a humanure pile, which I'm sure would gobble up eggshells and pistachio shells and anything else I threw in there, but I'm currently renting and don't think I could talk my landlord into that. So, I'm stuck with about a half pound of pistachio shells, and I'm afraid they will probably last longer than I would if I throw them in the compost.

Does anyone have any other suggestions for what I could do with them? I prefer something practical as I'm not the most artistic person in the world, but I'm open to anything.

I really like using pistachio shells for mulching or in potting mixes. Have had no problems with them breaking down, though they take a little longer because of the high C ratio.

wood gas!
hugelculture
mushroom substrate

this could be mildly useful.