Photos by Adam DeTour

The last time you slurped an oyster, maybe you noticed whether it was briny or sweet or earthy. Maybe you delighted in the merroir belying its particular habitat (think terroir but of the marine variety, from the French word mer for sea). Maybe you seasoned your oyster with lemon and horseradish or mignonette sauce, or it came adorned with some other chef’s kiss. But after you devoured your bivalve mollusk, did you think about what would happen next? Aside from turning your shell face-down on the ice and reaching for another oyster, did you think about the fate of that shell? If you’re like me, probably not. Until now.

If you’re curious: Most likely, the next stop was the trash. And then on to a landfill, where the shell, which contains calcium carbonate, creates harmful methane gas as it decomposes. But without an alternative, discarding oyster shells has historically been the norm.

In addition to the detrimental environmental impact and the physical tonnage of trash created, this common practice wastes ample opportunities to benefit the oyster population, which has dwindled worldwide due to overharvesting, pollution and human coastal development.

Enter the Massachusetts Oyster Project (MOP), a nonprofit working to strengthen the coastal environment by restoring native shellfish populations to beaches and coastal estuaries. The MOP has been working to change the status quo through its shell recycling program. In 2023 alone, the organization was responsible for recycling 55,000 pounds of oyster shells by partnering with restaurants, representing a 40% increase over 2022. Since the shell recycling launched in 2021, the MOP has collected more than 58 tons of shell.

From Memorial Day to Labor Day last year, the MOP partnered with 22 restaurants on Cape Cod. This summer, even more restaurants on the Cape are signing on.

“We’re keeping things out of the landfills because it’s the right thing to do,” says Liv Woods, MOP’s executive director. “Instead of throwing away these valuable resources, we’re finding ways to put them back into the environment. It’s a single-use idea.”

“It’s a local solution to a local problem,” says Erika Smith, program coordinator for the MOP.

Not only does the program eliminate shells from the waste stream, but it also boosts the habitat for oysters and other marine life, and supports the propagation of sustainable local seafood for consumption.

The MOP provides restaurants with five-gallon lidded buckets, which the restaurants fill with oyster shells. Every day, the shell recycling crew (known as “slingers”) brings the shells to a designated storage space— either Wellfleet’s transfer station or A.R.C. Shellfish Hatchery in Dennis—to dry and age for a year in order to kill any harmful bacteria.

Once the drying process is complete, shells are placed in intertidal waters—laid in “strips” to create essential substrate or “cultch” as a place for naturally spawning oyster larvae to settle; in order for oyster larvae to grow, they need to attach to oyster shells.

“The shell recycling program helps us to lay substrate that encourages oyster growth,” says Woods. “It creates a habitat more favorable for oysters. We are encouraging oyster bed growth and rehabilitation, and it keeps that circle of life going.”

Meanwhile, the oyster beds provide habitat and food for other marine life; and, as natural filters, the oysters improve the quality of the water. The list goes on: Made of calcium carbonate, oyster shells help neutralize ocean acidity, which boosts the growth of the shellfish population.

Beyond the shell recycling program, the MOP manages an upweller program—providing a protected environment for oysters to grow until they reach a size at which they can survive on their own, at which point they are released into appointed sites—and prioritizes educating students and the public about oysters and their impact on our coastal ecosystems.

Since it began in 2008 as the Massachusetts Oyster Project for Clean Water, the nonprofit has placed more than 2 million oysters.

While the name may have changed, the mission really hasn’t, says Theresa Baybutt, MOP president emeritus and advisory board member, who has been with the organization almost since its inception.

“In the beginning, it was about cleaning water,” says Baybutt. “Based on the things we do now, our mission hasn’t changed much since the original days; we are just bigger now.”

In keeping with this growth mind-set, the Massachusetts Oyster Project is working on expanding the reach of its shell recycling program, including to Boston.

The program successfully piloted in the city, but the logistics—including an interim place to store the shell before transferring it to a place to age—proved too difficult at first, so MOP pivoted to the Cape to lay the groundwork.

“By going to the Cape and running the program there, we proved it could be done,” says Baybutt.

Mac’s Shack in Wellfleet is one of the participants in the shell recycling program. Mac Hay—chef, owner and CEO of Mac’s Seafood—lauds the experience of partnering with the MOP.

“I have nothing but positive things to say both about what the goal of the organization is and the execution of the program,” says Hay, who estimated Mac’s Shack contributes about 20,000 shells per week to the program in the summer high season.

“There’s this satisfaction that comes with embracing a holistic approach to eating and disposing of our food. The intuitive nature in us wants to complete the cycle of consumption and recycling. We all want to feel good about what we’re consuming,” he continues. “It’s a great feeling to know that we’re part of a process that’s contributing to a positive effect on the environment.”

Meanwhile, Rico DiFronzo, executive chef of the Union Oyster House in Boston, was one of the program’s early adopters during its fledgling days in Boston. He sees the shell recycling program as a win-win, and is eagerly awaiting the day when the program finds a firm footing in the city for good.

“There are so many benefits, including building the oyster population. It helps the environment and the ecosystem of the state,” he says, noting he’s sure it will gain widespread support. “There are a lot of restaurants in Boston that serve oysters and think it’s a great idea.”

There is also another potential incentive: Pending state legislation—Senate Bill 466—would provide tax credits to businesses for oyster shell recycling.

In the meantime, DiFronzo isn’t throwing all his shells in the trash. The Union Oyster House repurposes a good amount of its shells by decorating them as commemorative souvenirs for guests.

“We’re trying to get creative to find a way to reuse the shells in some way,” he says.

massoyster.org

This story appeared in the Summer 2024 issue.