As a life-long environmentalist, Laura has always been conscientious about keeping litter out of roadsides and parks. But when she discovered that organic materials decompose in landfills and emit methane, a greenhouse gas 84x more potent than carbon dioxide, her passion for keeping organic waste out of landfills blossomed. Through vermicomposting, Worm Return transforms food scraps into a homogenous material packed with microbes. Worms eat this rich material and produce worm castings, thereby creating a soil that helps plants absorb nutrients. This garden gold is essential for revitalizing soil and supporting healthy plant growth.

From what’s being done to support electric vehicles and composting to how the Green New Deal would affect Pittsburgh’s historic buildings and churches, this Q&A covers it all.

As part of Pittsburgh's Climate Action Plan, the city wants to eliminate organic materials, including food waste, from landfills by 2030. To help reach this goal, the city is partnering with a company called Worm Return that uses worms to compost