Greenbuild's 2026 Legacy Project

The Billion Oyster Project has been officially named the 2026 Greenbuild Legacy Project. The New York City–based nonprofit is on a mission to restore oyster reefs to New York Harbor by fostering hands-on restoration and public education.

This initiative perfectly captures the spirit of Greenbuild: It is a practical, visible and enduring sustainability effort that transforms urban waste streams into the foundation for ecological restoration. Through the Billion Oyster Project's innovative Shell Recycling Program, oyster shells that would otherwise head to landfills are collected from restaurants, cured on Governors Island, cleaned by volunteers and returned to the harbor as the literal bedrock for new, living oyster reefs.

Key impacts

The following are key impacts made by the Billion Oyster Project.

• A growing network: Operating since 2015, the program currently partners with more than 70 restaurants across New York City, providing dedicated bins for sorting and storing shucked shells.
• Massive waste diversion: In 2025 alone, the program diverted over 287,000 pounds of shells from landfills, bringing the lifetime total to a staggering 3.1 million pounds.
• Industry education: The program bridges the gap between the culinary world and marine ecology. Restaurant staff receive specialized training on sustainable waste practices, giving back-of-house and front-of-house teams clear visibility into their environmental impact, which they can track via custom data dashboards.
  
  

How Greenbuild will support the project

The Greenbuild Host Committee is providing $10,000 in funding to directly support the expansion of the shell recycling program throughout 2026. Billion Oyster Project will allocate the resources toward two critical operational needs:

1. Staff and onboarding: Some of the funding will be dedicated to the project to support coordination of restaurant briefings, staff training and onboarding new restaurant partners.
2. Operational costs: Funds will also support the logistical and transport costs of peak-season shell collection.

This grant will allow the organization to deepen engagement with current partners, scale up its network and accelerate the 2026 reef installation timeline.

A lasting legacy for New York City

New York Harbor was once a thriving ecosystem defined by vast oyster reefs that naturally filtered water, provided marine habitats and buffered shorelines from storm surges. Today, the shell recycling program offers a brilliant blueprint for circular economies in a dense urban environment.

The circular impact: Restaurants reduce their waste footprint, students and volunteers engage in hyperlocal climate action, and coastal communities gain the protection of a healthier, more resilient harbor.

By investing in this proven infrastructure, Greenbuild’s Legacy Project ensures an impact that will ripple across the community long after the October conference concludes, offering a replicable model for other coastal cities worldwide.

Get involved

As Greenbuild 2026 approaches, attendees, partners and sustainability advocates have a unique opportunity to amplify this project’s reach. Every contribution helps secure a greener future for New York and its harbor. Consider contributing in the following ways:

• Donate directly: Support the expansion of the project by making a financial contribution through the official Greenbuild Billion Oyster Project donation page.
• Spread the word: Share the project's mission with your professional networks and social channels.
• Connect partners: Know an NYC restaurant that should be recycling its shells? Help connect them to the program.

The Greenbuild 2026 Legacy Subcommittee looks forward to sharing progress updates on the Billion Oyster Project’s NYC Restaurant Shell Recycling Program and invites the entire Greenbuild community to champion this vital coastal restoration work.