Some of the millions of oyster shells that Americans are used to throwing away are now rebuilding the coast where they came from.
The Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana, a non-profit advocacy organisation, has collected more than 1,300 tonnes of oyster shells from dozens of restaurants.
They end up in wire containers used to build an 800-metre barrier reef along the Biloxi Marsh, a part of the Mississippi River Delta that has seen significant erosion.
Al Jazeera's Jonathan Martin reports from Buras.
