New Jersey teenager develops herbicide from potato peels and coffee grounds
Leo Toake's nonprofit Re:Imagine Inc. has restored 15 acres of land using an experimental product made from food waste.
Leo Toake, a 16-year-old from New Jersey, has developed an alternative herbicide called S.A.F.E. using discarded potato peels and coffee grounds. According to the Times of India, the product was designed to control invasive plants by repurposing food waste that is typically sent to landfills.
The experimental herbicide achieved an 82.5 per cent inhibition rate against invasive Japanese stilt grass during preliminary trials. The production process has diverted more than 500 pounds of food waste from landfills.
Toake co-founded the nonprofit Re:Imagine Inc. alongside fellow Bergen County Academies students Muhammad El-Sherbiny, Elle Kim, and Justin Ahn. The group previously received a $2,500 award in the Bill of Rights Institute's MyImpact Challenge.
Toake and more than 70 volunteers have restored 15 acres in northern New Jersey. Their work includes removing more than two tons of invasive plant material and planting more than 100 keystone species.
The initiative has also focused on repairing erosion damage and maintaining public trails. Toake was named a 2026 runner-up for the Gloria Barron Prize for Young Heroes for his environmental work.
Toake said his initial effort to restore land has evolved into something more enduring, focused on encouraging people to see themselves as responsible for the environment.