About Fertile Earth
Feeding people, animals, and the soil.
Fertile Earth is a composting company helping South Florida reimagine how organic waste is processed — so it directly benefits local communities and the environment, with technology that operates cleanly, efficiently, and without odor or runoff.
Our story
It started with worms under a kitchen sink
Fertile Earth began in 2008 with a handful of composting worms living under founder Dr. Lanette Sobel’s kitchen sink in Miami Beach. There were no collection trucks, municipal projects or grand plans for changing South Florida’s waste system — just some worms and the idea that food scraps shouldn’t be thrown away.
Eighteen years later, the idea is essentially the same. The operation has just gotten considerably bigger: a growing fleet of collection trucks serving businesses, schools, municipalities and institutions across the region, and more than 30 million pounds of food kept out of the landfill.
Today we’re working with Miami-Dade County’s Department of Solid Waste Management to help establish composting guidelines for South Florida (see the landfill pilot update), building a network of local farms, and working closely with Miami-Dade County Public Schools (plan a field trip) and leading industries in South Florida.
Milestones
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2008
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2018
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2021
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2022
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March 2024
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Dec 2025
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June 2026
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Aug 2026
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Sept 2026
Founder and CEO
Dr. Lanette Sobel, the Queen of Compost
LEED AP, M.S., D.P.M.
Born in Washington, D.C., Dr. Sobel earned a business degree at the University of Virginia in 2000. Working in sustainability consulting for the hospitality industry, she discovered the massive impact food waste is having on the ecosystem.
Realizing there were no commercial options in South Florida for disposing of food waste except to landfill or incinerate, she decided to create one. To date, Fertile Earth has diverted over 30 million pounds of food from the landfill, transforming food scraps into animal feed and compost.
Dr. Sobel is a certified permaculturist and certified commercial composter. In 2018 she earned a master’s degree in forest pathology and a doctorate in plant medicine from the University of Florida. In 2021 she joined the faculty at Earth & Life University in Mexico, teaching the world’s first Spanish-language doctoral-level course on circular economies, and in 2022 she was appointed to the board of the South Dade Soil & Water Conservation District.
She also co-founded the Fertile Earth Foundation in 2008, a non-profit focused on compost education. The company continues to grow its organic-waste clientele and to produce high-quality compost, vermicompost, organic fertilizers, teas and soil blends in South Florida.
Our team
The people behind the soil
Soil science, logistics, operations and community engagement: logistics managers who coordinate collection routes, outreach specialists who build relationships with residents and businesses, and operations leads who keep our vermicomposting facilities running.
30+ million
pounds of food diverted
18+ years
composting in South Florida
66+ acres
of farmland & 5 farm partners
Recognition
The Pamela Barrera Zero-Waste Business Award
In August 2026, Debris Free Oceans recognized Fertile Earth’s work to reduce waste and recover South Florida’s surplus food for people, animals and soil.
“We started with worms under a kitchen sink and a stubborn belief that food scraps shouldn’t be thrown away. To receive this recognition from Debris Free Oceans is a welcome bit of encouragement for work that is still very much a work in progress.”
U.S. Composting Council
Florida Composting Council
FNGLA member
Let’s find the highest and best use for your food scraps
Businesses, cities, farms and residents — we have a program for you.