I have a dog, Leyla (below, right). She generates a lot of dog waste, which I pick up and deposit into garbage cans. Those cans stink to high heaven, especially in the summer. Never did it occur to me that the poo could be used for something more than catching flies.
Wouldn't you know it? Right here in Massachusetts, in the next town over, someone did think of a useful way to reuse dog turds. Artist Matthew Mazzotta has come up with simple system that converts dog waste into energy that can be used to generate electricity. He calls it Park Spark.
The idea isn't that far removed from other methods concerned with converting poo into power, like this idea for turning cow manure into a biogas that could power Internet servers. And how about this idea from Volkswagen, which has a "Bio-Bug" that runs on processed sewage?
What I like about it is that it doesn't require a huge industrial initiative or some big corporate funding. It's just a small-scale, simple solution to a normal, everyday problem.
Here's how it works. A dog owner uses a biodegradable bag to pick up her pet's excrement. She tosses the bag into a tube, which leads to an underground digester. There is no oxygen in the digester. As microorganisms break down the organic material, they give off methane. Next, the dog owner turns a crank, which mixes the organic material and causes the methane gas to rise up. The methane can be burned to produce power.
Mazzotta and his colleagues are currently holding discussions with people from the community and elsewhere about how best to use the methane generated. If you want to get involved, please visit the website and send them a note.
Tags: Alternative Power Sources, Animals, Green Your Electricity, Waste and Recycling
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