sa国际传媒官网网页入口

Dawn Dewey has a way with garbage, which is a more complicated skill than you might think.

As head of Soilutions, a composting company at the southern edge of sa国际传媒官网网页入口, Dewey is in charge of converting tons of yard and food waste into magic material that makes plants thrive.

Since she and her husband took over the 30-year-old company in 2021, Dewey has turned it from a 鈥渂outique business that was kind of just chugging along鈥� at producing about 6,000 cubic yards of compost per year into a powerhouse that makes 30,000 cubic yards and has plans for more.

One way Dewey spurred the company鈥檚 rapid growth was by offering home delivery to backyard gardeners who might not want to drive across town for their compost. In addition, Soilutions opened an online store and also began selling its product at six Just Sprinklers鈥� retail locations.

And, in an expansion of local food recycling, Soilutions recently started taking food waste from two sa国际传媒官网网页入口 restaurants and a local school.

Dewey loves data, so she keeps close track of her compost system鈥檚 recipe ratios, their temperature, their watering needs and how often they should be turned, depending on the season. A daily flyover by a drone provides help.

It鈥檚 clear that Dewey has dirt in her DNA. Her father worked on biosolids composting for the city of sa国际传媒官网网页入口 and the local water authority, and her family 鈥渘ever threw away food waste,鈥� but composted instead.

And she was always interested in business. Before taking over Soilutions, Dewey was a top executive at the now-defunct Dreamstyle Remodeling.

She credits Soilutions with 鈥渢ransforming waste into what nature always intended for it 鈥� a chemical-free, completely organic, all-natural gardening amendment that鈥檚 replenishing our state鈥檚 depleted soils. And it鈥檚 helping people reconnect with nature and discover the joy and stress relief of getting your hands in the dirt and working in your garden.鈥�

What鈥檚 been a difficult thing about running Soilutions?

Everything. I think I came in with a real hubris, because I was running this $200 million company (Dreamstyle) and thought, 鈥淭his is going to be a walk in the park.鈥� I got slapped with humility really quickly, because this is at least as hard, if not harder, than when I was working in my big corporate job. When you鈥檙e a small business owner, you are doing everything. I love that, but it鈥檚 a big responsibility and a big challenge.

Tell me about the food waste program.

Denali is the nation鈥檚 largest organic recycling company, and they partner with very large grocers like Sam鈥檚 Club, Walmart, Costco, Whole Foods, etc., to find composting or food waste recycling solutions for those businesses. So they called us up and said, 鈥淲e have all this food waste from Walmart. Can you take it?鈥� And we said, 鈥淵es, bring it!鈥� Now we鈥檙e engaging the community, because I think that鈥檚 really important for us to not only bring it in from these grocers, but we want the local community to be engaged. So we just launched with M鈥檛ucci Restaurants, Farm & Table (restaurant) and sa国际传媒官网网页入口 Academy, and so that鈥檚 something we鈥檙e really looking to grow.

What part of the business are you most proud of?

I鈥檓 just really proud of the growth we鈥檝e achieved. I鈥檓 really proud of launching Generation Grow this year. I feel really passionately about working with nature instead of against nature. Our culture has become so chemically driven across so many areas, but like in the garden, people get this Miracle-Gro, like blue crystals 鈥� and it鈥檚 not right. And so to be able to provide people with this all-natural, locally produced product, which is also keeping things out of our landfill, I鈥檓 very proud of the whole thing.

What are the plans for your Generation Grow effort?

The program is called Generation Grow because we want this next generation to be more aware of the benefits of growing your own food. You don't have chemicals, and it hasn鈥檛 traveled from far away. There's an application on our website. This year, we committed to donating 200 cubic yards of soil, which is about a $25,000 retail value, to organizations 鈥� that include more than 10 APS or charter private schools, some addiction treatment centers, which I think is a very worthy cause, and Cuidando Los Ni帽os, which is a fabulous organization that helps mothers and children.

What was your first job?

I became a lifeguard for the city of sa国际传媒官网网页入口 when I was 15, and I鈥檝e never not had a job since then. Then I moved on to working in restaurants all through college, but I鈥檝e always had that hustle gene.

Tell me about a mistake that you learned from.

I had been at Dreamstyle 鈥� for 10 years, and I stayed there for a couple years after we bought Soilutions. I was working both, which was very challenging. It wasn鈥檛 a mistake because it got me where I am today, but my kids were young and I also lost my mom. I have since then learned how important it is to prioritize family and peace. So I鈥檝e taken up a daily yoga practice, and I鈥檓 very protective of making sure I have that family time.

Do you have a garden at home?

I have 10 raised beds, so you name a vegetable, I鈥檓 probably growing it. And I鈥檓 an avid dahlia grower. I actually write a little gardening column for New Mexico MarketPlace magazine, a monthly magazine that鈥檚 mailed to homes. I鈥檝e always been interested in gardening and plants on an innate level since I was a child. So I just feel very, very fortunate to be in this business where it鈥檚 something I鈥檓 passionate about, and also knowing what we鈥檙e doing is just helping our planet in some small way.

Ellen Marks, a former Journal editor, writes One-on-One profiles and Scam Watch. You can reach her at emarks@abqjournal.com.