They will be recycled to make new oysters
The Town of Urbanna Marina is the location of the “Friends of the Rappahannock” oyster shell recycling bin, which is where shells can be taken for recycling from the Urbanna Oyster Festival.
Every shell brought to the bin will go back into Urbanna Creek to restore the oyster population in the creek, said Jen Sagan, oyster restoration specialist for Friends of the Rappahannock (FOTR).
For about 10 years now, FOTR has had a wonderful partnership with other stakeholders in Urbanna through the Restore Urbanna Creek project, said Sagan.
“We’re an environmental nonprofit group focused on advocacy, restoration, and education for the Rappahannock River and its tributaries,” said Sagan.
“We also aim to recycle all of the oyster shells at the Urbanna Oyster Festival annually to be used for Urbanna Creek oyster reef restoration projects,” she said.
“FOTR has a robust oyster shell recycling program, which collects shells from restaurants, festivals (including Urbanna Oyster Festival), and individuals to be used for oyster reef restoration,” she said.
“These shells are used as a clutch for new oysters to grow on. The base of an oyster shell with new juvenile oysters growing on it is known as spat-on-shell,” she said.
“Spat-on-shell allows oysters to grow out into a cluster which is ideal for the formation of three dimensional reef structures that provide habitat and protect shorelines.
“Every summer I grow these spat-on-shell oysters as well as collaborate with local oyster farms to grow individual seed oysters. Thanks to these two growing methods, we surpass one to two million oysters grown and planted for restoration annually.
“In the past, we focused largely on restoration on oyster leases, but have recently started pursuing more homeowner and community-based shoreline projects.
“We collaborated with Rosegill to restore an oyster lease in their name, but otherwise did not have many Urbanna homeowners participating in the program. Because of this, I reached out to Meghan Hall of Urbanna Main Street program who promoted these free shoreline oyster restoration projects, and luckily many people showed interest!
“This past summer of 2025, I had the pleasure of growing and installing approximately 350,000 diploid oysters for Urbanna residents. Thanks to the growing community interest in Urbanna, I foresee many more oysters going into the Urbanna waterways in the next few years.
Anyone interested in working with Sagan in growing oysters along their shoreline can reach her via email at jennifer.sagan@riverfriends.org.
Also, after that oyster roast on Friday or Saturday, remember the oyster recycling bin at the town marina, 210 Oyster Road, Urbanna, is awaiting your shells.
