4 Md. Oyster Shell Recycling Drop-Off Sites Open

CAMBRIDGE, Md. (AP) -- Marylanders have four new Dorchester County sites to drop off oyster shells for recycling.

The shells are used in oyster restoration efforts. Young oysters raised in hatcheries prefer to attach to adult oyster shells, which are in short supply.

The Oyster Recovery Partnership says each shell can host up to 10 young oysters, known as spat. The partnership announced the new sites along with the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science and Dorchester County.

The new drop-off sites are at the center's Horn Point lab in Cambridge, the Beulah Landfill in Hurlock, and landfill transfer stations in Secretary and Church Creek.

The partnership says it has recycled more than 1,200 tons of shell since 2009, but that is only about 15 percent of the state's annual needs.

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