Jessica Cain: From Green Waste to Green Futures

Jessica Cain is the Marketing Manager at Agromin, California’s largest green waste processing facility. Agromin is a leading organic recycler, transforming food scraps and green waste into earth-friendly soil products. These products are used by more than 200 communities across the state, from large-scale farmers to home gardeners. Through industrial-scale composting, Agromin not only supports sustainable agriculture but also advances climate solutions by helping to remove carbon dioxide emissions from the atmosphere through rich soil and reducing methane emissions that are produced when organic matter decays in landfills. Since 1990, Agromin's operations have diverted millions of tons of organic waste from landfills, preventing the release of significant amounts of methane, a greenhouse gas that’s 80 times more warming than carbon dioxide in the near term.

One of the most important things you can do about climate change is talk about it.

• As the Marketing Manager at Agromin, Jessica Cain works to help people understand why composting matters. One way she does this is by sharing powerful facts, like how, at the beginning of the 20th century, healthy soil held about 6% carbon. Today, that number has dropped to less than 1%. That missing carbon hasn’t just disappeared; much of it has been released into the atmosphere, where it contributes to climate change. Composting helps solve this problem. By turning food and green waste into healthy soil, composting keeps more carbon in the ground. This improves our environment, supports healthier food systems, and builds a more sustainable future. Jessica is working to make it easier for people to participate in composting by launching Agromin’s online store for ordering mulch and compost in bulk, delivered right to homes or businesses. Where do you see examples of composting in your neighborhood – whether by individuals, schools, or in the broader community?
  What challenges or barriers might prevent people from participating in composting? What are some actions you could take locally to make it easier for people to participate in composting as a climate solution?
• Agromin’s California Compost program supports a state law known as SB 1383. Why are climate policies like SB 1383 important for advancing climate solutions? In what ways can laws, when turned into public programs, help support and encourage individual and community action on climate change? What can you do to support climate-friendly policies that benefit your community?
• Jessica emphasizes that marketing is really about storytelling and is a powerful way to connect with people. “We can only say compost is great so many times without bringing in fresh insights,” she explains. By sharing stories on social media and other communication channels from everyday Healthy Soil Heroes who are composting in their communities, Jessica helps others understand the impact of composting in ways that are relatable, fun, and inspiring. How might stories from real people be more effective than facts alone in inspiring action on climate issues? Can you recall a time when a story you heard motivated you to make a positive change in your own life or in the lives of others?
• Jessica’s own journey is a powerful story of resilience. She faced the challenges of growing up with a mother who struggled with drug addiction and was in and out of prison. As a teenager, Jessica became a mother and raised her son as a single parent. She shares that these life experiences “fueled my passion for doing something better and greater for the world. I wanted to set a good example for my son and persevere through life.” Through hard work, creativity, and a strong commitment to building a better world, Jessica has built a career where she now helps others grow, both through storytelling and through cultivating healthy soil. As a gardener and landscaper herself, she doesn’t just promote composting; she lives it, putting sustainable practices into action at home. Think about a challenge you or someone you know has faced. How can overcoming difficult experiences inspire personal growth and be a motivator for making a positive difference in your community or the world?

Learn about the solutions in this story:

• Solutions Sectors:  Food, Agriculture, Land & Oceans
• Solutions Clusters: Shift Agriculture Practices
• Solutions: Improve Nutrient Management; Improve Irrigation Efficiency; Increase Composting
• For more on all of Project Drawdown’s climate solutions, visit drawdown.org/explorer
• Learn more about Jessica’s work at Agromin

Explore Climate Solutions 101, the world's first major educational effort focused solely on climate solutions. This video series combines Project Drawdown’s trusted resources with the expertise of inspiring, scientifically knowledgeable voices from around the world: drawdown.org/climate-solutions-101.

Visit the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, a resource that shares research, communications strategy, and opinion polling on climate communications.

• Subscribe to the Project Drawdown newsletter to receive biweekly insights and inspiration to guide your own climate solutions journey. 
• Drawdown Ecochallenge, presented by Ecochallenge.org, is a fun and social way to take measurable action on the top climate solutions. Take the challenge, and see how a few weeks of action add up to a lifetime of change for you and the planet. If you want to take action on climate solutions like Jessica, start a challenge today. 
• The Drawdown Labs Job Function Action Guides are practical resources that highlight specific, high-impact climate actions employees in common corporate professions can take at work. 
• ChangeX connects people with proven ideas for strengthening communities with the resources needed to implement those changes. Explore countless ways to improve your community and help the world reach drawdown.
• Climate Generation's Green Careers for a Changing Climate Instructional Supplement (for Grades 6-8) contains resources to help young people learn about Green STEM Careers—paths that use STEM skills to help reduce the impacts of climate change. Throughout this instructional supplement, students use Project Drawdown resources to make important connections between climate solutions and different careers.
• Solutions Journalism Network highlights the importance of reporting stories of climate solutions in the media to create a more equitable and sustainable world. Visit their Teaching Climate Solutions resource to find curated collections and the latest examples of climate solutions journalism.
• SubjectToClimate (StC) is a nonprofit online connector for K-12 leaders of all subjects to find materials on climate change at no cost. Explore StC’s educator-generated database to connect to Project Drawdown-based climate education resources.