Here’s why this $81B company wants N.J.’s discarded oyster shells back

Each year, millions of oyster shells are thrown away after hungry restaurant customers suck down their savory meat.

Those shells left on plates for waiters to take away are often discarded and take up space in New Jersey’s 14 active landfills.

Gov. Phil Murphy’s administration began changing that pattern in 2019, through a program to recycle those shells by returning them to the waters in which they were harvested. Sysco, one of the nation’s largest food distributors, announced on Monday that it is launching an effort to gather unused oyster shells from the restaurants it serves for the Jersey-grown program.

Access to Sysco’s regional clientele marks the recycling program’s largest expansion since its inception, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Sean LaTourr