Lea esta nota en español .

For Maria Perez, joining a project to reduce food waste in Washington wasn’t just a job. Her journey with the Duwamish Valley Sustainability Association (DVSA) began when she was 14 and enrolled in a youth program that sparked her interest in fighting climate change. Six years later, the association hired her to manage a program that turns waste from a Seattle neighborhood into a type of liquid plant food.

The innovative program in the South Park area was launched by the DVSA in 2021, in partnership with nonprofits including Food Lifeline , Sustainable Seattle , and Black Star Farmers , as well as the company Chomp — which builds the initiative’s small-scale biodigesters.

Perez spent hours learning about how the sealed container uses bacteria to re

See Full Page