Oyster Shell Recycling Project

“Oyster shell is integral to the oyster restoration process, serving as the prime material and means for getting juvenile oysters into the Chesapeake Bay,” said ORP Executive Director Stephan Abel. “Thanks to the environmentally-minded citizens and businesses, every year we’re increasingly able to source shell locally to sustain the large-scale recovery of sanctuary and wild fishery oyster reefs, and the growing aquaculture industry.”

Officially named the Shell Recycling Alliance, the program hosts 320 seafood business members and offers 72 public collection sites in the Mid-Atlantic, making it the largest oyster shell recycling network in the nation.

Since the Alliance’s launch in 2010, ORP has recycled 133,000 bushels, which equates to 4,660 tons of shell kept out of area landfills, and enough substrate to support the planting of 500 million oysters in local waters.

Natural oyster shell is vital to a healthy oyster population because it is the preferred material for oyster larvae to attach and grow. In fact, every half shell can host up to 10 spat, or baby oysters.

Read entire article here: http://www.fairfaxtimes.com/articles/keep-the-pearls-but-return-the-shells-recycling-helps-preserve/article_a5340b76-a7af-11e7-bf76-738f4ed04698.html