The Metro: Steps we can all take to reduce waste
John Filbrandt, The Metro, Sam Corey January 30, 2025Today on The Metro, we discuss what the city of Detroit is doing to reduce waste, what we can do personally, and what it means to center sustainability in our food system.

Detroit's Office of Sustainability participates in several community events throughout the year to help educate the public about sustainable practices.
Photo credit: Detroit Office of Sustainability
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Americans toss out an average of five pounds of trash each day, according the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
While some of that gets recycled, most of it ends up in landfills, leading many households to seek out solutions for reducing their waste output and making more eco-conscious choices. But there are several ways to accomplish that — from composting organic waste, to simply consuming less, to opting for a bike or public transportation instead of a car.
Today on The Metro, we discuss what the city of Detroit is doing to reduce waste, what we can do personally, and what it means to center sustainability in our food system.
Guests:
Tepfirah Rushdan: Director of Detroit’s Office of Sustainability.
Amanda Brezzell: Creative director and co-founder of Fennigan’s Farms in Detroit.
Dazmonique Carr: Director of operations for Deeply Rooted Produce and board president for Deeply Rooted Gardens in Detroit.
We also asked listeners:
“What are you doing to be less wasteful?”
Katie in Detroit said she’s “separating out my wants and my needs, you know. Like, I want to buy new clothes all the time. I don’t need to buy new clothes all the time. You don’t need, you know, to always have the trendiest thing or whatever.”
Use the media player above to listen to the full conversation.
Monday’s question: Would you homeschool your kids and why?
Join the conversation by calling 313-577-1019 or leaving us an Open Mic message on the WDET app.
More stories from The Metro on Jan. 30, 2024:
- Drew Fralick is the co-lead pastor of the Renaissance Vineyard Church in Ferndale. He joined the show to talk about how the church is helping people through addiction recovery and regular comedy events.
- WDET’s Ryan Patrick Hooper ordered up a cold glass of history on the latest episode of CuriosiD when he visited the Two Way Inn, Detroit’s oldest bar. Hooper also spoke to bar historian Mickey Lyons on The Old Miami’s 45th anniversary.
- James Wheeler curated exhibits and traveled around the world showing his rare collection of Black media. The collection features film, visual arts, albums, books, magazines, artifacts and so much more. Wheeler’s daughter and co-founder of The Black Canon and The Black Canon Collection Alima Trapp joined the show to talk about it. Motor City Cinema co-founder John Monaghan also joined the show to discuss an event showing pieces from the collection this weekend.
Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.
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Jack Filbrandt is an assistant producer on WDET's daily news, arts and culture program, The Metro. He grew up on Lake Michigan and has called Detroit home for seven years. He's also a Detroit Documenter, covering local government meetings in the city. He previously worked for Wayne State's student newspaper, The South End, and The Battering Ram.
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Sam Corey is a producer for 101.9 WDET, which includes finding and preparing interesting stories for the daily news, arts and culture program, The Metro. Sam joined WDET after a year and a half at The Union, a small newspaper in California, and stints at a variety of local Michigan outlets, including WUOM and the Metro Times. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan and the University of Chicago.