The city is placing one heck of a seafood order in the name of environmental preservation.
It's collecting empty oyster shells by the bucket-load from dozens of restaurants.
Up to 35 tons of shells are normally thrown out every week in the city.
Now instead of being tossed, those shells will be dropped in the waters off Staten Island's south shore in order to prevent erosion, reduce future storm damage, and provide a natural habitat for sea life.
"It's a naturally produced item, and it makes absolutely no sense to take something made by nature and just throw it into the landfill," said Oceana Executive Chef Ben Pollinger.
"Frankly the innovation here is to work with nature not against it, to restore those great oyster beds that used to protect Staten Island years ago," said Staten Island Deputy Borough President Ed Burke.
To learn more about the Billion Oyster Project and other restoration efforts, check out stormrecovery.ny.gov.