By Carita Miller
In the heart of Detroit, where innovation and resilience often collide, one woman has turned waste into opportunity—and compost into climate action. Meet Pashon Murray, founder of Detroit Dirt, a composting company that’s more than a sustainability project—it’s a movement.
Murray’s story starts in Grand Rapids, where she grew up making landfill runs with her father, a waste management entrepreneur. Those early experiences—paired with summers in Mississippi where she watched her grandfather farm the land—planted the seeds for her life’s mission: reconnecting people with the earth while tackling environmental injustice.
"I didn’t know it then," she says, "but those landfill trips and that soil in Mississippi shaped everything I’ve done since."
In 2010, she co-founded Detroit Dirt to fight food waste and bring environmental awareness to urban centers. The mission? Simple and powerful: divert organic waste from landfills and turn it into compost to nourish urban agriculture. What began as a grassroots operation collecting manure, spent grains, and food scraps has grown into a pioneering model for circular economy solutions.
Each year in the U.S., over 62 million tons of food goes uneaten. That waste represents not only lost nutrition but lost energy, water, and labor—wasted resources in a time of climate crisis. Detroit Dirt steps in with a closed-loop system: turning trash into soil, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and growing community resilience in the process.
Through the Detroit Dirt Foundation, Murray extends her work beyond compost piles and into classrooms. The foundation’s curriculum weaves composting, food waste, soil science, and plant production into STEM education, creating hands-on experiences for K-12 students.
“Science starts in the soil,” Murray explains. “When students understand the microbial world, they’re not just learning biology—they’re seeing how interconnected everything really is.”
With partnerships spanning universities, nonprofits, and corporations like Bosch, the foundation is helping kids literally get their hands dirty as they explore environmental science, sustainability, and innovation.
Murray’s work has now moved into the national research spotlight. As a key partner in a climate-resilient bioeconomy project, Detroit Dirt is a case study in how small, minority-owned businesses can anchor a low-carbon future. Her expertise in biomass handling and premium soil production is shaping research around composting, biochar, and biofuels.
“Right now, most of Detroit’s waste is still going to landfills,” she says. “We have a better way.”
The vision? Scale operations that not only divert waste but produce energy and regenerative products—while creating local jobs and economic opportunity.
Murray's impact hasn’t gone unnoticed. She’s been recognized by Newsweek, the United Nations, and the Obama White House, where she was featured as one of 30 entrepreneurs at the first-ever Demo Day. Campaigns by Ford, Mastercard, and Vice have spotlighted her work, but her eyes remain on the soil—and the soul of the city she serves.
“This is about more than compost,” she says. “It’s about environmental justice. It’s about reclaiming our relationship with the land.”
Pashon Murray isn’t just managing waste—she’s transforming systems. From grassroots education to global climate research, she’s proving that real change starts from the ground up.
