Michelle Salas

After 13 years working in executive management with top business leaders and helping take-off what is now a leading U.S. company deploying greenhouse gas reduction projects and renewable energy projects, I found the inspiration to start my own dream company in 2008. I have always had a passion for nature and animals and a desire to have my own business, but it wasn’t until 2010 that I combined these two interests to form Lady Green Miami Recycling Co. I was pursuing a Master’s in Environmental Studies at Florida International University when I took a course that emphasized nutrient recycling and how the concept of waste doesn’t exist in nature. This idea became the foundation of my company and it inspired me so much that I chose to drop out of school (I still sat in most classes and continued learning and getting inspired!) and dedicate all of my resources to making my vision a reality. Today, Lady Green Miami provides waste pickup and recycling services to over 1,700 locations throughout Miami-Dade and Broward County, and every day we work harder to offer our community innovative and accessible solutions to reuse and recycle locally. Some of the most rewarding achievements in the past 11 years working in the waste management and recycling business have been: -Receiving Waste360’s 40 Under 40 2019 Award -Launching Lady Green Club, through which we offer customized educational products and services to schools, businesses, and organizations, and learning materials for kids -Publishing a children’s book “The Lady Green Club” to tell my story and inspire young children to protect our planet -Publishing our Lady Green Recycling Activity book and Compost Toolkit -Launching our Closed Loop program in 2021 which involves local processing of hard-to-recycle plastics to make new products -Installing two reverse vending machines in Milam’s Markets in 2021 to offer our communities free recycling for plastic bottles, cans and plastic bags.