Traditionally, a major contributor of greenhouse gas, food waste releases tons of methane into the atmosphere. “According to the EPA, methane is more than 25 times more potent as a greenhouse gas than CO₂,“ explains Marko Macura, who oversees business development for AgroThrive. “The mission of [our] company is to improve the health of our soils, seas, and skies by safely repurposing nutrient dense organic wastes into sustainable bio-fertilizers.”

AgroThrive was founded in 2006 in California’s Salinas Valley by Marko’s father, Dragan Macura. After seeing the sheer volume of waste in the food industry and how traditional agricultural practices have also depleted the soil of organic matter, Dragan used his background in food science and applied microbiology to invent what AgroThrive refers to as a “Progressive Digestion Process,” or PDP: an energy-efficient way to convert industrial fish and meat processing waste into food-safe, professional-grade organic fertilizer. AgroThrive first began selling to agricultural markets. “Some of the largest organic vegetable producers in the country have relied on our products to grow the organic food we find at the grocery store for over 15 years,” Marko says.

Since then, AgroThrive turned to their FedEx representative for guidance, getting a crash course on shipping options and figuring out how to offer sustainable packaging for their new home gardening line, all while managing massive growth. “Our representative is always willing to come meet with us and figure out a better way of doing things,” says Marko.