In 1987, when Dan Cristiani Excavating Company was clearing a homesite for a customer, the customer asked what were they going to do with the topsoil? The builder suggested that it could be spread out over the yard, where it would later be covered with rough fill dirt. It seemed wasteful to lose such good topsoil to Dan. That's when he came up with the idea of Earth First. Dan realized that good clean topsoil is a valueable commodity. He had a soil screening facility set up on Frontage Road in Clarksville, IN. There it served contractors and landscapers throughout Kentucky and Indiana.

Customers were delighted with the clean triple screened topsoil and were soon asking for equally high quality mulch. It was at that point that Dan purchased some trucks and a tub grinder to start its mulching operation under the watchful eye of Glenn Schneider. While technology has changed considerably in the years since, Glenn still remains at the helm and his expertise assures Earth First customers of a superior product.

Encouraged by this initial success and the demand it created, Dan approached local officials about the need to recycle leaves, brush, and yard waste for composting. As a result, Earth First acquired a ready source for materials, and the local community reaped the benefits of keeping yard waste out of land fills.

Soon afterward, when the state crafted legislation requiring solid wasted to be recycled rather than be burned, Earth First and Dan Cristiani were involved in the research and offered the benefit of their insight and experience.

By 1993, Earth First of Kentuckiana was incorporated as a separate company. Its rapid growth has continued, and today Earth First has five locations with over 3,000 items for sale, from the topsoil and mulch that they began with to concrete products and even Carhartt clothing.