Editing Oyster (section)

=== Shell recycling ===
Recycled oyster shells can help restore oyster reefs to provide marine life habitat that reduces flooding, and protects shorelines from storms.<ref name="auto2">{{Cite news |last=Journal |first=Kailyn Rhone &#124; Photographs by Tess Mayer for The Wall Street |title=The 'Save the Oceans' Tax Break: Recycling Oyster Shells |url=https://www.wsj.com/us-news/climate-environment/climate-save-ocean-recycled-oyster-shells-1fff9d54 |newspaper=WSJ}}</ref> Shell-recycling non-profits retrieve shells from restaurants, wash and dry them, and set them in the sun for up to a year to kill bacteria. Some states encourage shell recycling by offering tax incentives.<ref name="auto2" />

The [[Billion Oyster Project]] out of New York has a goal of engaging one million people to return a billion Oysters to the New York Harbor. The nonprofit partners with 60+ restaurants to recycle discarded oyster shells to rebuild Oyster reefs.

$5 Million was awarded to Restore America's Estuaries by the NOAA's Office of Habitat Conservation to rebuild oyster reefs in Louisiana, Florida, Alabama, and Texas to expand oyster recycling efforts and create new Oyster Recycling programs.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fisheries |first=NOAA |date=2024-06-28 |title=Gulf Coast: Oyster Shell Recycling Key to Sustainable Seafood and Coastal Protection {{!}} NOAA Fisheries |url=https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-story/gulf-coast-oyster-shell-recycling-key-sustainable-seafood-and-coastal-protection |access-date=2025-04-01 |website=NOAA |language=en}}</ref> Along the Gulf, many communities support nonprofits that recycle oyster shells.

The Shells for Shorelines Initiative similarly collects donated oyster shells from restaurants in Southern California.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Shells for Shorelines |url=https://www.coastkeeper.org/shells-for-shorelines/ |access-date=2025-04-01 |website=Orange County Coastkeeper |language=en-US}}</ref> The shells are repurposed as part of a restoration project to restore native [[Ostrea lurida|Olympia oysters]] (Ostrea Larida) reefs, the only native oyster to the West Coast, Canada, and Alaska.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Olympia Oyster |url=https://www.coastkeeper.org/restoration/olympia-oyster/ |access-date=2025-04-01 |website=Orange County Coastkeeper |language=en-US}}</ref>

Historically, Oyster shell waste was repurposed to form [[tabby concrete]] in construction. The origins of the material is debated, but likely was developed on the Iberian Peninsula or North Africa, where it was then introduced to the Americas via colonization<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Jacksonville |first1=Mailing Address: 12713 Fort Caroline Road |last2=Us |first2=FL 32225 Phone: 904-641-7155 Contact |title=Tabby - Timucuan Ecological & Historic Preserve (U.S. National Park Service) |url=https://www.nps.gov/timu/learn/historyculture/kp_tabby.htm |access-date=2025-04-01 |website=www.nps.gov |language=en}}</ref> Tabby concrete is composed of burnt oyster shells for a source of lime and broken oyster shells as aggregate, and was a popular construction choice on the Atlantic coast until the mid 19th century.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Idowu |first=Jola |date=2024-09-24 |title=Tapia, Tabbi, Tabique, Tabby |url=https://placesjournal.org/article/tabby-concrete-black-indigenous-history/?cn-reloaded=1 |journal=Places Journal |issue=2024 |language=en-US |doi=10.22269/240924|doi-access=free }}</ref> [[Kingsley Plantation|The Kingsley Plantation]] on Fort George Island, build by African slaves, is one of the most notable examples of tabby concrete, but it is commonly found on plantations, factories, military forts, and historical landmarks in the South.<ref name=":0" />