Oyster recycling program targets local restaurants, uses shell for new reefs

By Ashley Fletcher Frampton, Charleston Regional Business Journal

More than half of the 6.7 million pounds of oysters sold in South Carolina each year are sold to restaurants, many of them in Charleston, according to a count by The Nature Conservancy.

And most of those oyster shells, once the salty meat is plucked from them, go straight into the trash.

For years, state officials have been trying to find a cost-effective way to recycle shells from restaurants for use in refurbishment of public oyster beds and stabilization of shorelines. The state now buys out-of-state shells for those purposes.

Now, a grant of about $8,000 from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has allowed the state agency and partner groups to launch a pilot program, which begins today and runs through the middle of May. Several local restaurants already have signed on.

A key to making the logistics work is a partnership with Fisher Recycling of Charleston, said Joy Brown, marine restoration specialist with The Nature Conservancy. Because Fisher Recycling already collects recyclables from many area restaurants, the company can add oyster shells to its pickup rounds.

Andy Jennings, oyster shell recycling program coordinator with the S.C. Department of Natural Resources, said DNR considered hiring a separate waste collection company in the past but abandoned the idea when cost estimates came in around $3,000 per month.

Restaurants pay part of the cost in the pilot program — they pay $20 for Fisher Recycling to pick up the shells they collect in two garbage can-sized bins.

Local establishments already signed up to participate are Charleston Place, Fleet Landing, Hank’s Seafood, Liberty Taproom, Pearlz restaurants and Peninsula Grill.

Fisher Recycling will take the shells to its North Charleston facility. When 1,000 to 1,500 bushels are collected, DNR will turn them into new reefs.

Chris Fisher, owner of Fisher Recycling, said the partnership is not a profit center for his company. He said the $20 pickup fee helps cover his labor costs.

Fisher said restaurants can save on waste disposal costs if they lighten the load by recycling oyster shells.

Jennings said that, based on early estimates, the state could save as much as $1,500 per month by collecting shells from Charleston restaurants.

Groups partnering for the pilot program are DNR, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, The Nature Conservancy, Fisher Recycling and the College of Charleston’s Students in Free Enterprise group.

Restaurants interested in recycling oyster shells should call Fisher Recycling at 881-3388.