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Supporting sustainable businesses in New Mexico is more important than ever as the state struggles with air pollution and missed environmental goals. With pollution from oil and gas production heavily contributing to pollution, some local businesses—and their customers—are doing their part to chip away at further polluting our air and water.
“When you look at what’s going on with the oceans and with the temperature, you can see that what we’re doing is creating problems,” says Trishelle Kirk, CEO of Albuquerque-based Soilutions. “There are a bunch of people trying to address it, but even more importantly, corporations need to address it.”
Soilutions is a locally-owned and operated compost soil and mulch company that delivers to residents, municipalities and companies. Its products are created from yard clippings and waste that would otherwise end up in a landfill.
“It’s a very sustainable way to create a product that goes back into our environment,” says Kirk, “We’re ensuring that we’re maintaining biodiversity in New Mexico.”
Kirk says the company is focused on intervening in the cycle of waste.
“There’s a lot of plastic going into the ocean. Once it leaves our homes, it’s just out of sight, out of mind,” says Kirk. “In the composting space, we’re saying not all waste is created equal. Some waste goes into our ocean and causes water problems.”
Soilutions takes some of that waste and uses it to beautify the community instead.
Some of the waste that they utilize for their products comes from local curbside food scrap collection company Little Green Bucket.
“Being green is the heart and soul of our business,” says Little Green Bucket founder, Brad Weikel. “The whole reason I started it was because I wanted to have a positive environmental impact—both locally and globally.”
Little Green Bucket picks up food waste from residents and companies and delivers it to Soilutions, where the waste is turned into mulch. Weikel says diverting food waste from going to the landfill and converting it into local soil helps improve water retention and contributes to biodiversity.
Both Kirk and Weikel say their customers are excited to support green businesses. According to a 2022 Greenberg Quinlan Rosner poll, the majority of New Mexico voters support state policies to address drought, climate concerns and methane emissions.
“Our customers are people who already care about the environment and want to do the right thing,” says Weikel.
Brandon Condrey, co-founder of Sandia Green Clean, says New Mexicans are willing to show their support for green models with their dollars.
“We speak to that customer,” he says. “They’re our ideal customer—someone who’s concerned about the environment in general.”
Sandia Green Clean provides residential cleaning services based on a green model. Staff use environmentally—and people-friendly—cleaning solutions and reusable equipment to minimize the company’s footprint.
“We are more expensive than your average housekeeper,” says Condrey, “There’s a reason for that. A green cleaning company is not the same as a housekeeper.”
Last month, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham pointed proudly at a study showing Texas was responsible for nearly four times the number of super emitter carbon events as New Mexico and has twice the greenhouse gas emissions from gas and oil companies.
“This study proves what we in New Mexico already know: We are doing the right things at the right time to produce the cleanest barrel of oil in the country,” said Lujan Grisham in a news release. “It also proves that state leadership matters—and New Mexico will not abdicate its responsibility to future generations.”
The governor said the state will be looking into renewable energy options and making electric vehicles available to residents. She also said New Mexico will be “shaping a cleaner oil and gas industry,” and “holding polluters accountable.”
The governor’s office was quick to remind voters that Lujan Grisham issued a climate change executive order that directed state agencies to develop “comprehensive rules for reducing emissions from the oil and gas sector.”
The news release highlighted New Mexico’s methane waste rules, which require companies to capture 98 percent of their produced natural gas by the end of 2026 and prohibit routine venting and flaring.
It was an important statement, considering the blowback New Mexico has received over the last several months about its reputation as an environmentally-unfriendly state.
A lawsuit was filed in May against the New Mexico Legislature, Lujan Grisham and state agencies alleging air quality in counties where gas and oil is produced fails to meet federal safety standards.
“New Mexico’s failure to control oil and gas pollution violates our constitution and fundamental human rights to clean air, land and water,” said lead counsel Gail Evans in a news release. “If concern for our environment and public health won’t push New Mexico’s leaders to control the reckless oil and gas industry, we hope legal action will.”
The suit found that Eddy and San Juan Counties received an “F” from the American Lung Association for high ozone days, and Lea and Sandoval Counties got a “D.” The suit notes that oil production in the Permian Basin has increased nearly 10-fold since 2010.
The suit calls for the state to suspend permitting new oil and gas wells and comply with its constitutional duty to protect New Mexico’s environment.
In September, an assessment reportedly funded by Matin Real Estate in Oregon ranked New Mexico the third least environmentally-friendly state in the country. According to the report’s authors, the biggest concern had to do with water quality. It found that 1.1 million New Mexico residents depend on unreliable water sources.
The assessment also noted the state’s poor air quality and high level of coal production.
So at least part of the burden of correcting New Mexico’s environment will likely fall on the shoulders of the state’s residents, and supporting local green businesses is one of the few ways that people can actually move the dial. But it certainly won’t be enough to change the course.