Why Wellfleet Restaurants Should Recycle Oyster Shells

Yesterday evening Tracey Barry Hunt of Wellfleet's Recycling Committee led an informative meeting on green initiatives for local businesses. The three topics under discussion were the recycling of oyster shells, green certification, and general waste management. A Nauset Disposal rep spoke on this last subject, but I was not able to stay for his presentation. Pam Anderson, from Cape & Islands Green, explained programs that enable businesses to go green without expense and described the benefits of certification. What I want to tell you about today, however, is Curt Felix’s talk to encourage restaurant owners to recycle oyster shells. First, a bit of background: the cost of trash disposal for the Town of Wellfleet will shortly skyrocket. For this reason, the town and its very active Recycling Committee have been looking into ways to reduce the volume trucked off Cape. That is part of the equation. The other important part is water quality: our harbor is not up to State standards. A group of clever individuals on the Wastewater Commission have come up with an original idea to avoid sewers by dumping discarded shells in the harbor to encourage the growth of more oysters. (Oyster seed, called "spat," attaches to shells, "cultch," to create new oysters.) Additional oysters will function as a filtration system and alleviate the overload of nutrients. Since the heavy shells get recycled, the SEMASS bill goes down. More oysters, less pollution, lower SEMASS bills: a win-win situation.

The Wellfleet oyster population is at one tenth its historic record. It was interesting to learn that the inner harbor, over near Power’s Landing, used to have masses of oyster shells where now there’s only sand.

Curt Felix explained the plan to provide restaurant owners with 25-galloon buckets that will be picked up at intervals to be determined on an individual basis. The buckets full of shells will be replaced with empty buckets. The shells will eventually be dumped in the harbor at specific spots, like the area shown in the top photo, between the row of condos and the marina.

At Oysterfest 2011,100,000 oysters were eaten. The State exceptionally agreed to allow the corresponding five tons of shells, from known sources in Wellfleet, to be dumped back into the marina without delay. (To avoid disease, shells from foreign sources must remain on land for four years.) Felix expects around 30 tons of shells from our restaurants per year but this is only a geusstimate. These shells will create a habitat for baby oysters, and the oysters will make the costly installation of sewers unnecessary. Nifty, don’t you think? Here's the plan:

What's Wrong With This Picture?

If you answered that an empty bleach container had washed up on a Wellfleet beach, you would have been right. Apparently boat owners use bleach to clean the deck. Sometimes the containers get washed overboard, or dropped. They do not belong in the ocean. We all need to rethink some of our old habits. If I had the time, I would try to talk to local seamen and see if someone could come up with an alternative. Any ideas?

And, while we're on the topic of plastic pollution, this week one of my posts featured Teresa Parker. When I spoke to her about tomorrow's Preservation Hall event, she told me this blog had inspired her to pick up trash in the woods of Wellfleet. Look at all the refuse Teresa found during a walk around Long Pond! An empty bottle, discarded in the woods, can become a place for mosquitoes to breed. The plastic bags can injure wildlife. As Teresa wrote, "It's just one of those kind of stories that one doesn't read in the newspaper." I'm glad if we are becoming more aware of these issues on the Outer Cape. I just wish our national leaders would embrace a serious no-litter campaign and get plastic out of our lives. Wellfleet has an excellent Recycling Committee and for that, I am grateful. Do you do your part? Do you pick up trash and recycle it?

Wellfleet Kids Swap Halloween Costumes at Prez. Hall

Yesterday the Recycling Committee and Preservation Hall held Wellfleet’s First Annual Costume Exchange in the basement of Prez. Hall. I was warmly greeted by RC Chair Lydia Vivante and RC member Tracey Hunt, mother of two young children who paced nervously, not sure what the turn-out might be. She need not have worried. At 2:30 sharp, Wellfleet moms materialized, with eager kids in tow.

I immediately spotted a small accessory table that would have pleased my granddaughter. Sure enough, no sooner had kids approached than two little girls and one boy began to play with the beaded necklaces, below right. Their moms were more interested in the disguises laid out on the stage, “clean and gently worn,” as specified by the RC swap flyer. In June, Prez. Hall held a very successful summer clothing swap, which provided the spark for this fun new event, conceived to make Halloween more affordable and to recycle used costumes.

When I turned to go, a four-year-old girl swooped up to the stage to claim a witch’s hat. “Am I bewitched, Mommy?” she asked. That’s the magic of masquerade as far as kids are concerned. Don a few scarfs and a mask and feel transformed.

My mom wasn’t very imaginative when it came to Halloween. I usually wore a sheet, with two cut-out eyes, becoming Casper the Friendly Ghost.

Does your town organize a Halloween costume exchange yet? Do you plan to attend the fall clothing swap at Prez. Hall, which will take place next Thursday, from 5:30 to 7:30? What was your favorite Halloween costume when you were a child?