From LA to the San Gabriel Valley, he’s converting waste into want, one pile at a time

By Joshua Silla

NORTH HOLLYWOOD — As lunchtime ends, Arminta Street Elementary students line up to throw food into trashcans, later sorted and added to a soil pile. For some, the end result may seem mundane – but it’s what New Earth Regeneration Initiative founder Carlos Marin says is an important “proof of concept” capable of changing California’s landscape for years to come.

Marin’s mission is to develop innovative sustainable solutions to large-scale environmental challenges, like California’s growing desertification.

After witnessing the San Francisco Bay Area’s historic “Orange Skies Day” wildfire event in 2020, when surrounding fires burned across the area creating a thick orange hue across the sky as the smoke dimmed the sun, Marin pivoted career paths, shifting his decade-long f