Diners’ discarded shells help establish new oyster colonies

PORT REPUBLIC, N.J. (AP) — Shells discarded by diners are being collected, cleaned and dumped into waterways around the country and the world, where they form the basis of new oyster colonies. One of the latest such projects is taking place in Atlantic City, where a casino and two other restaurants are saving the shells left over from their diners. The shells are then collected and dumped into the Mullica River, where free-floating baby oysters attach to them and begin growing. A single oyster can filter 50 gallons of water a day.