BioCP

Clay pigeon shooting was developed in Britain in the late 1800’s and is now an international
sport represented at Olympic level and enjoyed either as a recreation or in competition by a
diverse range of participants. The clays are commonly manufactured from limestone or chalk
mixed with coal tar pitch (CTP) or petroleum pitch to act as a binder and pressed into a
Frisbee like disc with a typical size and weight for pigeon clays of 110mm diameter and 103g
respectively. CTP is environmentally undesirable due to its high polynuclear aromatic
hydrocarbons content and petroleum pitch whilst low in PAHs is not biodegradable. It is our
proposal to develop clays with a new composition that is not only non-toxic but also biodegradable
yet exhibit the same properties as the current standard clays bound with CTP so
that they withstand transport, launching and yet break easily when hit with a shotgun pellet.