Dog poop might be yucky, but now it’s helping the environment! The Park Spark Project, installed in Cambridge Massachusetts, takes dog waste and turns it into energy.
Instead of throwing away the poo, dog owners can put it into a methane digester, which is currently powering a street lantern.
“After the dogs do their business, signs on the tanks instruct owners to use biodegradable bags supplied on site to pick up the poop and deposit it into the left tank. People then turn a wheel to stir its insides, which contain waste and water. Microbes in the waste give off methane, an odorless gas that is fed through the tanks to the lamp and burned off. The park is small but has proven busy enough to ensure a steady supply of fuel.”
The Park Spark Project is the brain child of artist Matthew Mazzotta, who hopes it will bring attention to the way we dispose of waste and generate electricity, gas, and other source of energy.
“Mazzotta had recently traveled to India and saw people there using poop in so-called ‘methane digesters’ to cook food. As he watched the park’s trash can fill with bags of poop, he remarked to his friend, ‘In other countries, they use that.’
Perhaps the U.S., with more dogs than any other country, can use “that” too!