Michael Roberts, left, proprietor of MotherEarth Eco-Solutions, visits with Boyd Miller from the Choctaw Nation Preferred Supplier Program, after a presentation about Roberts’ product (shown in foreground).
Environmentally Friendly Cleaner Draws from Family History
Durant, Okla. - Imagine a product that combines common sense, chemistry and culture as a solution to a very out-of-sight, out-of-mind problem.
Michael Roberts has done so, taking a gift from a biochemist and turning it into MotherEarth Eco-Remediations. The microbes gifted to Roberts are a unique and, according to the developers, much safer way to combat commercial kitchen grease clogging drain pipes.
That’s the out-of-sight part. While MotherEarth does have more visible products such as a kitchen cleaner, the main attraction is a safe, non-abrasive liquid that eats up grease and clears expensive plumbing systems of potentially costly clogs.
Cue the common sense: Roberts presented his product to the Choctaw Nation Preferred Supplier program in April. Choctaw Casinos, as well as others in the region, have been using MotherEarth for a few years since it is a native-owned company (Roberts and his business partner and wife, Rebecca, are both Native Americans).
“There is a lot of stuff that goes down the drain” at commercial kitchens, Roberts said. “One problem kitchens will have is buildup and back-up from so much grease going down the lines.”
The problem with popular brands is dependence upon caustic chemicals to break down grease. These chemicals create as many problems as they solve: They get into the wastewater chain (a gateway to the environment and downstream water supplies), and the toxic compounds can eat away at pipes.
The contrast is easier illustrated like this: The warnings on a bottle of big-name pipe degreaser are numerous, and shocking. There are no such warnings on a bottle of MotherEarth. “If you were to drink it, it wouldn’t kill you,” Roberts said.
Now, the chemistry: Roberts met a biochemist who had developed bacterial microbes that consume greasy build-ups, rather than chemically breaking them down with the help of enzymes. The enzyme process is so invasive that many places simply foot the bill for expensive pumping services. City and state regulators place limits on restaurants’ release of bio-oxygen demands and “total suspended solids” on either end of the process.
“Our product actually takes care of those things,” Roberts said. “We’re trying to eliminate pump-outs. We’re trying to save the environment and save facilities a huge amount in fines and surcharges.”
So how did Roberts come up with this bacteria-based solution? That’s where culture comes into play.
Roberts lives in Ada and is a fancy-dancer - a 19-time world champion one at that. He is Choctaw and Chickasaw. His pastime is attending pow wows and festivals throughout the land to show off his moves and regalia. He has assisted in organizing the annual Choctaw Nation Pow Wow set for December this year.
The MotherEarthEco.com website has a quote from Roberts’ father, Hiloha Okcheemali (Blue Thunder): “There was a time… I could drink water with the animals.” Roberts intends to do his part to restore that level of purity to the world.
In his father’s youth, he was part of a traditional deer hunt with the Meskwaki (Sac & Fox) Nation in Iowa. He related to his son that they took a deer but “the blood stunk and the meat stunk. The (deer) were drinking polluted water,” he said.
“That’s when we realized, something was going on with the environment, and something needs to be done,” he said.
Fast-forward several years to one of Roberts’ fancy-dance competitions. At one of them, he met the biochemist, who revealed his Irish roots.
“I said, ‘Have you ever heard the story about how the Choctaws helped during the Irish potato famine?’ After I told him the story, he wanted to do something to show his appreciation. He wanted to give back,” Roberts said.
The microbial compound in Mother Earth was that gift. Roberts saw an opportunity to take action to help the environment. Since developing the product line, he has worked with several Oklahoma tribes as well as Fortune 500 companies like Frito-Lay.
He hopes his example will inspire other big corporations to look at ways they can impact the world positively.
“If they see Native Americans caring for the environment, maybe they too will change,” he said. “I’m not looking to be a multi-millionaire. I’m looking to change the environment.”
One way, of course, is to use the safer microbial pipe cleanser that Roberts has developed. He says other formulas use a fractional amount of microbes, while his product claims a staggering 1 trillion per gallon. He also offers a hydronium-based product for eliminating rust, lime-scale and calcium build-up.
The product is disseminated through a mechanical system attached beneath three-pot sinks in industrial kitchens. The components come from suppliers on the east and west coasts, while the product itself is crafted in Ada. Roberts has contractors who provide service calls to their growing list of clients.
Roberts and his line of MotherEarth Eco-Remediation products were put through the “shark tank” process of the Preferred Supplier Program, including people from Franchising, Facilities Maintenance and Business Development at Choctaw Nation, as well as Chickasaw Nation Division of Commerce. Panel participants were impressed with the product, but they wanted Roberts to improve his marketing to expand the product’s reach.
“This process is not just to create an Indian-owned business,” said Boyd Miller, director of the Preferred Supplier Program. “It’s to make sure that business can successfully take on its chosen project.”
Through the various resources available to small businesses started by Choctaw Nation members, ideas like Roberts’ MotherEarth products can reach their full potential. In this case, the potential is not only in financial rewards—but rewarding for us all with a small step toward a better Earth.
For more information about these products, visit www.mothereartheco.com.
