Atlantic City's discarded oyster shells are helping the New Jersey oyster population

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (CBS) — Ever wondered where the shells of the oysters eaten in Atlantic City end up?

It's not a landfill. Instead, they're returned to the place they were first scooped up.

And now, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection plans to expand its program to recycle oyster shells after receiving more than $1 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

The Shell Recycling Program works by collecting used oyster shells from restaurants and casinos in Atlantic City before transporting them to a barge. Using high-powered water cannons, crews spray the shells off the barge into the Mullica River.

NJDEP fisheries biologist Scott Stueber said oysters need a hard base, like shells, to survive, and without enough shell, they can die.

Recycling oyster shells instead of throwing them away, Stueber said, helps New Jersey's oyster population thrive.

"These are juvenile oysters all over a previously recycled oyster shell," Steuber demonstrated. "So, you can see that's one single shell with countless oysters all over it."

This year, the NJDEP is expected to recycle more than 250 tons of oyster shells collected by restaurants and casinos, including from the Borgata Hotel, Casino & Spa.

"It's really important to give back, not just to the community, but to the sea as well," Deborah Pellegrino, executive director chef at the Borgata, said. "We respect food that we bring in. We know where it comes from and that we want to give back so that we can keep the food populated for the environment."