((PKG)) RECYCLING OYSTER SHELLS
((Banner: Double Duty Oysters))
((Reporter: Faiza Elmasry))
((Camera: Adam Greenbaum))
((Adapted by: Martin Secrest))
((Map: United States / Annapolis, Maryland))
((Banner: Mike’s Crab House is part of Maryland’s Oyster Recovery Partnership. The Partnership has collected shells and planted 725 million oysters since 2010))
((Tony Piera, Co-Owner, Mike’s Crab House))
It’s about four years ago we started saving shells, just putting them in the trash cans and they would come and get them. It’s a win-win for us, it’s a win-win for the environment. I think it’s a win-win for the landfills, because the product doesn’t go to the landfill. It saves the bay. Oyster Recovery replants the spats. I think if you’re on the Oyster Recovery list, I think you get a lot more people that are environmentally friendly come to eat at your restaurant, because they know you’re saving the shells, instead of throwing them in the dumpster, and they’re going to the landfill. I think I’m getting more customers here because they know I’m recycling them, and they know it’s good for the environment and the Chesapeake Bay.
((Karis King, Spokesperson, Oyster Recovery Partnership))
We started out in 2010. We had a handful of restaurants just interested in helping us, kind of, grow this program. We had an idea, and from there, it’s been really well received. We’ve continued to grow and expand. After the shell leaves your plate, our shell recycling collectors will come pick it up, put it in a large truck, and then it will be hauled to Cambridge, Maryland. And the reason we take it there is because that’s where our shell pile is located. This is a massive shell pile. It stays in that pile for a little over a year so that the sun can, kind of, bleach it clean. The rain can wash it clean, and then it’s put through a cleaning process so that it’s a hundred percent ready to be treated. And when we say treated, that’s treated with oyster larvae. We introduce oyster larvae to it in large setting tanks, and oyster larvae will actually stick to it and grow off of that. Every half shell can support about 10 baby oysters, also called spat, and from there we will put it on a large ship.
((Stephanie Alexander, Hatchery Manager))
Oysters are really important to any ecosystem. They are considered the keystone species. So, they are the cornerstone of the bay environment. They create habitat for many, many critters. They are kind of the coral reefs of the bay. You put a hard structure out there, and it’s going to be colonized by a lot of the animals. So, the more oysters we get overboard, the better off. We’re going to have better water quality. We’re going to have more oysters going to the market, and everybody’s going to be happy.
