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After a complicated discussion about molecules, negative ions, etc., basically Cielo has developed a synthetic rock that is ground down to a talcum-like powder to become their highly secret catalyst that is added to all kinds of garbage — including contaminated plastic — and out comes fuel. Cielo sold its first batch of diesel in April.

“The way I look at it, we can make a huge difference on what happens in the world. That, to me, is what I’m leaving behind for my grandkids. A better, cleaner world.”

Those five grandkids and one great-grandchild sometimes call their 59-year-old grandpa “Doc”, after the fictional scientist Dr. Emmett (Doc) Brown in the 1985 hit movie Back to the Future, starring Michael J. Fox. At one point in the movie, Doc rifles through a garbage can, pulling out a banana peel and some other garbage to fuel his DeLorean car turned into a time machine.

That’s kind of what Allan is doing now, except on a much grander scale. In many ways, he, too, is propelling the world faster into the future.

“We use materials that people pay to dispose of and turn it into low-cost, transportation-grade diesel fuel, and we do that with almost no emissions,” said Allan, who spent Thursday taking media on tours of the plant for its official launch.

Allan points to the barbecue area preparing beef and chicken burgers, and says not one scrap from the day’s lunch will wind up in the landfill. Every paper plate, every plastic fork and knife, every piece of meat or discarded hamburger bun is going into making fuel — first by chopping everything up into two-inch pieces before being ground into a sand-like consistency.