Finalist

Hackett

Take trash. Add science. Produce clean fuel.

Black and white photograph of Hackett, founder of a new cooperative that turns bakery waste into fuel
Year
2021
Sector
Creativity & Culture, Environment & Sustainability
Borough
Brooklyn
Black and white photograph of Hackett, founder of a new cooperative that turns bakery waste into fuel

Using a unusual skillset, which includes dumpster diving, moonshining, and collaborative DIY, Hackett has developed a way to produce a clean, renewable gasoline replacement from bread — specifically the mountain of unsold and imperfect bread thrown away in NYC every day that contains volumes of potential energy in its concentrated carbs. His worker-owned co-op will intercept this waste and then ferment and distill it into renewable, low-emission ethanol fuel. Like the movement to transform used fry oil into biodiesel, this process represents a new pathway to sustainability and community ownership of a cleaner future.