Food Scraps to Save the Sound, A Shell Recycling Story

By: Maya Ray, 2024 Long Island Sound Study Intern

Shellfish are a staple part of Long Island Sound’s culture, playing a key role in recreational fishing, resident livelihoods, and are a star attraction of many beloved restaurants along the Sound’s coast.  With the help of the Collective Oyster Recycling and Restoration (CORR), a recently launched non-profit, inventive efforts to recycle and restore shellfish are underway, allowing diners to help restore shell beds one five-gallon bucket at a time. 

Oysters rely on the shells of their companions for reproduction. The “babies”, called spats, require hard surfaces to grow on. While they can grow on rocks, ceramics, and other solid materials, their favorite place to mature is on the old shells of other oysters, due to the added protection from predators. When more shells are available for them to latch on to, the survivability of the young oysters increases.  With support from a $99,880 Long Island Sound Community Impact Fund grant, CORR is working with local restaurants to increase oyster populations along the shore. 

Co-founders Tim Macklin, Todd Koehnke, and Eric Victor stay hands-on through every step of the shell recycling process.  

“It’s a lot of time commitment, but we but we love it, said Koehnke. “We wouldn’t have picked anything else to do.”

Over 500,000 pounds of oysters have been recycled since CORR’s start in 2023. With hopes to recycle an additional 300,000 pounds next year, this massive restoration effort to bring shell beds back to the Sound is just getting started.  

Increasing the area of shell beds in Long Island Sound is also important for crustaceans, small invertebrates, and fish populations, which use the beds as hunting grounds or shelter. Increased oyster populations also help keep the Sound’s waters cleaner, filtering out algae, as well as excess nutrients in the water, such as nitrogen from inland runoff. A single mature oyster can filter around 50 gallons of water a day. With the help of oyster recycling programs, waters all along the coast can have better water quality and more biodiversity.  

“So overall, the more oysters you have in Long Island Sound, it’s just going to benefit it, and help keep it a healthy and clean environment,” said Macklin. 

Recycled shells are being supplied by restaurants across the state. When people dine, they are encouraged to place used oyster shells in CORR buckets that line tables. Eateries then collect the oyster shell waste and prepare it in five-gallon buckets for transport to the recycling facility. CORR vehicles pick up the shells and take them to the recycling facility, where they are thoroughly cleaned and left to cure and sanitize for six months. While in the curing process, they are decontaminated by the sun and weather, while insects and wildlife remove any leftover residue. This ensures that the shells are bacteria-free and safe to reintroduce to the Sound.

“And the neat thing is, we step back with the pile [of shells] and we’re like, humans ate all of those, every one of these touched someone’s plate,” said Koehnke. 

By tabling at events, and even hosting oyster festivals, CORR is hoping to draw attention to the importance of shellfish recycling. The non-profit also partners with the Sound School in New Haven, helping them with a living shoreline project using reef balls by lending them cured shells.

CORR members are also part of the Fairfield Shellfish Commission and the Mill River Wetlands Committee. Involvement in these groups has improved outreach efforts across the state and created more opportunities for connecting with key groups, including students. As more and more people learn about and engage in oyster recycling, CORR plans to incorporate educational programming into its work.  

“Everybody loves to get their hands dirty and actually see things,” said Macklin. “It’s one thing to talk about stuff, but when you can actually physically see it, I think it engages people a lot more.”

In addition to creating education and engagement opportunities, the success of the project has CORR looking to collaborate with more restaurants, expanding into more counties in Connecticut. They have already established themselves in nine counties spanning from Greenwich to Guilford. They also partner with Southington and Hartford in central Connecticut. Future efforts will expand eastward toward Stonington.

“We need to prove our record here on the big stage, so we’re hoping that just comes in time,” said Macklin.