Oyster Shell Recycling

Oyster shell is a valuable resource, yet it usually goes to waste. In San Francisco, oyster shell goes into the green bin and is composted. But in all of the other eight counties that surround the Bay, the shell is thrown into the trash. 

Bay Native Nursery Oyster Midden

Oyster shells are the best material for growing new oysters and building new reefs. They are also useful for building roads, making mortar, landscaping, and even feeding chickens. Because oysters are almost always sold alive in their shells by oyster farmers, the imperative to recycle them occurs after you have slurped a few or a dozen. We need your help collecting the shells from restaurants, special events and individual oyster lovers. Let's put our shells back to work after enjoying their tasty bite of the ocean.

If you are interested in the oyster shell recycling program, if you are a restaurant looking to help our Bay ecosystem by donating those empty shells, or if you have some land that you can provide a space to cure a big pile of shell, please contact us at linda@wildoysters.org.

We are grateful to the following establishments who donate shell to build oyster reefs