Shell Collection Program FAQ Q. What is the Billion Oyster Project? Why do you collect oyster shells? Answer: The Billion Oyster Project (“BOP”) is an oyster reef restoration and education project in New York funded by the New York Harbor Foundation. The New York Harbor School, a public high school teaching through restoration-based STEM education programs, and many NY middle schools participate in the program. Both New York Harbor School and New York Harbor Foundation are located at Governors Island. The BOP Shell Collection Program, operated by Earth Matter NY, collects fresh oyster shells from NYC restaurants and events to supply the BOP. New York students need cured oyster shells to restore NY Harbor while learning applied science! Q. Why should I consider participating in the Shell Collection Program? Answer: Joining the BOP Shell Collection Program has many benefits: • Weekly (up to three pick-ups per week on Mondays, Wednesdays, and/or Fridays), biweekly, and/or eventual oyster shell collection at no cost. You can save operational costs and reduce your waste footprint. • It is a fantastic opportunity to become a more sustainable business while helping restore New York Harbor, divert tons of oyster shells from landfills, and educate the community about the benefits of conservation and restoration. • Bins, buckets, signage, and staff guidance are provided. • Promotional material to promote BOP among customers are provided. Restaurant promotion through BOP website and social media. • Various annual BOP events where restaurants can participate! Q. I am the owner/manager of a restaurant with a raw bar. Can I manage oyster shells as a separate organic waste? Answer: Yes. The Billion Oyster Project Shell Collection Program is the only way to manage oyster shells separately from regular organic waste in New York City. Q. Our menu offers oysters, clams, and mussels. Do you collect any kind of shells? Answer: We accept mixed bivalve shells, but oyster shells have to be predominant. We do not collect gastropod shells. Q. Do you collect throughout and outside New York City?
Document Version: FAQ06 New York. August 26, 2015
Answer: No. Our Program has limited capacity. We only collect from restaurants and bars located in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Staten Island. However, if you have a restaurant in any other borough and are interested in joining the Shell Collection Program, please, fill our online Shell Collection enrollment form. If your restaurant is located in one of our routes or we expand our program, we would like to contact you. Q. How can I join the Shell Collection Program? Answer: First, you have to contact us filling our online Shell Collection enrollment form. This form will ask you basic information such as contact information, oysters sold per week, and storage capacity. It is crucial for us to have this information in order to design and modify our collection routes. We will include your restaurant in our database and contact you informing about our current admission status. If we are able to include your restaurant in our collection routes, you will have to read and sign an Acknowledgment letter of participation in the Shell Collection Program. Q. If I send you a service request form today, when would you be able to start collecting my shells? Answer: It depends. We have limited pick-up capacity. We will study one by one each request to see if it is possible to include your restaurant in our current or future routes. If we can include your restaurant in the Program, we might start collecting shells in two weeks. Q. Is there a maximum or minimum of shells to join the Program? How will I store the shells? Answer: We collect from big and small oyster shell generators. We collect with 64-gal wheeled bins with lockable lids with gasket (space required for each bin: 32” L x 24 ¼” W) and 5-gal buckets with gamma sealed lids (space required for each bucket: 12 ¼” L x 12 ¼” W). If your restaurant sells over 1,200 oysters per week, we will provide you with a 64-gal bin. If you are under 1,200, we can provide 5-gal buckets. However, our capacity of operating with buckets is limited.
Image. 64-gal bin (left) and 5-gal sealed bucket (right).
Document Version: FAQ06 New York. August 26, 2015
We are really interested in restaurants and bars that can provide several bins on each pick-up. If you are one of them, we will be happy to hear from you! However, sometimes different restaurants and bars that generate small amounts of shells are pretty close to each other;; then, we can reorganize our routes to collect shells from all of you. Q. Would the oyster shells odor be a problem? What about pests? Answer: No. Our current restaurant partners store their shells in walk-in freezers or in indoor trash areas and do not experience odors. The 64-gal bins have lids with gasket and lock, and the 5-gal buckets have a gamma sealed lid. Besides, we can provide a bottle of deodorizing solution prepared with natural products that will help avoiding any potential odor and/or a bucket of sawdust that could be scattered over the shells too. The buckets also come with a fly catcher ribbon to avoid flies around the bin and are sprayed with diatomaceous earth when they are stored outside during the summer. Also, we will pick up your shells when they are still fresh. We will work with you to find the best way to store your shells. Q. How does the shell collection work? Answer: Once we have provided the restaurant with bins or buckets, we can start collecting shells in accordance to an agreed calendar and schedule. We collect three days per week (Monday, Wednesday, and Friday) from 6 am until 2 pm. Restaurants and bars must make sure that the bins are filled exclusively with clean shells and no other type of waste (some lemon wedges are okay). Shells should be placed directly into the bins or buckets (no plastic bags). On the pick-up day, our staff will go to your restaurant, get the full bins or buckets, do a quality control, and leave fresh empty containers. Q. Does the Shell Collection Program charge any fee for the services? Answer: There is no fee for the collection services because we are a not-for-profit non- commercial waste collection activity in connection with an environmental and educational program. However, you can make a donation and help us continue collecting oyster shells. Contact us to get more information. Q: I am the coordinator of a seafood festival and we are going to serve lots of oysters. Can you collect our shells? Answer: We will work with you to see if we can collect your shells. Please, fill the online Shell Collection enrollment form. We will study your needs and let you know if we can do the collection. If we are able to collect the shells generated in the event, we should discuss some coordination and communication aspects before any agreement. Another option could be your organization transporting the shells to our operation sites.
Document Version: FAQ06 New York. August 26, 2015
Q: What does the Billion Oyster Project Shell Collection Program do with the shells collected from the restaurants and bars? Answer: We pick up and transport the oyster shells to our curing site in Staten Island where we store the shells outside. Processing fresh shells includes raking, removing eventual pieces of contamination, and spraying a deodorizing solution to control odors. We build shell rows and keep them exposed to the sun, rain, and other weather conditions between six months and a year. After that period, any flesh and potential pathogens have been removed, and cured shells are ready to be reused.
For more information, visit us:
earthmatter.org/bop bop.nyc
Document Version: FAQ06 New York. August 26, 2015