The Marine Discovery Center’s Shuck & Share oyster recycling program reached a million-pound milestone earlier this year. Shuck & Share was launched in 2013 and the first oyster shells were collected at local restaurants in 2014. Restaurants participating in the program began holding discarded shells from diners’ meals to be collected for recycled use in shoreline restoration projects up and down the Indian River Lagoon.
Initially, only a handful of restaurants agreed to save oyster shells and donate the shells to MDC. Now, 13 restaurants in Volusia County participate. In addition to Volusia County, nine other coastal counties have adopted the Shuck & Share program. Restaurants in the participating counties across the state are working to use the shells for shoreline restoration programs on Florida’s East Coast, as well as in Sarasota and Tampa Bay.
Waste Pro became a partner in the program, committing to pick up shells using specialized equipment from restaurants that donated larger quantities of shell. Oyster shells from the participating restaurants were either collected weekly by MDC volunteers or by Waste Pro for the heavier loads – a system that currently is still in place.
Collected shells are then taken to a back lot on MDC’s campus where they are deposited and dated for a designated period of quarantine. The shells sit in the lot for a minimum of six months – a standard set by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) – to assure that shells are bacteria-free and ready for use in restoration.
The program uses oyster shells in a variety of techniques, depending on the shoreline, tides and objectives by restoration specialists.
