news articles - an idea for a dog beach

Washington Post

Thursday, February 23, 2006; Page C13

The San Francisco Treatment: Just Doo It

San Francisco officials, looking for different sources of energy, are turning their attention to the power of the poop.

Dog poop, to be precise.

In the next few months, the California city will start a program at a popular dog park that will encourage people to drop their dog droppings into a methane digester -- a contraption in which bacteria eat at doggie doo for weeks until the poop becomes methane gas.

The gas could then be used to power gas stoves and heaters. It also could be used to generate electricity.

How much energy could be generated by Fido's feces? Well, city officials say that almost 4 percent of household trash is dog waste. That's about 6,500 tons a year.

San Francisco -- which was named after Saint Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals -- is home to about 120,000 dogs.

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USA Today

February 21, 2006

S.F. going to the dogs for a little energy

Didn't hear President Bush talking about this alternative energy idea:

Officials in the city named for the patron saint of animals see power in the 6,500 tons of pooch poop that winds up in the trash every year. (No figures on the left-behind tonnage that gets stepped on.) San Francisco's garbage hauler will soon begin collecting the dog droppings and dump them into a "methane digester," which, through the magic of nature, will produce methane gas that could fuel, say, a stove or heater, or generate electricity. A first of its kind in these United States, though farmers have been hip to the process for years.

All right, let the jokes begin. (Just don't call it Frisco ...)

San Francisco is looking into using dog waste as energy source

By KIM CURTIS

Associated Press Writer

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - City officials are hoping to harness the power of dog waste in this dog-friendly city where animal feces make up nearly 4 percent of residential waste.

San Franciscans already recycle more than 60 percent of their garbage, but officials hope to turn into energy the 6,500 tons of dog waste a year * nearly as much as disposable diapers, according to the city.

Within the next few months, Norcal Waste, a garbage hauling company that collects San Francisco's trash, will begin a pilot program under which it will use biodegradable bags and dog-waste carts to pick up droppings at a popular dog park.

The droppings will be tossed into a contraption called a methane digester, which is basically a tank in which bacteria feed on feces for weeks to create methane gas.

The methane could then be piped directly to a gas stove, heater, turbine or anything else powered by natural gas. It can also be used to generate electricity.

Methane digesters are nothing new. The technology was introduced in Europe about 20 years ago, and more than 600 farm-based digesters are in operation there. Nine are in use on California dairy farms, and chicken and hog farms elsewhere in the United States also use them.

Neither Norcal Waste spokesman Robert Reed nor Will Brinton, a Maine-based recycling and composting consultant, knew of anyone in the United States who is using the $1 million devices to convert pet waste to energy. But Brinton said some European countries process dog droppings along with food and yard waste.

"The main impediment is probably getting communities around the country the courage to collect it, to give value to something we'd rather not talk about," Brinton said. "San Francisco is probably the king of pet cities. This could be very important to them."

San Francisco * the city named after Saint Francis, patron saint of animals * has an estimated 240,000 dogs and cats.

Some experts believe methane digestion must become more attractive economically before it gets popular. Landfill space is relatively cheap, and natural gas and electricity also remain fairly inexpensive.

Reed points to San Francisco's groundbreaking food composting program, which began 10 years ago, as proof an unusual idea can work in this forward-thinking city. A Norcal Waste subsidiary collects 300 tons (272 metric tons) of food scraps per day from homes and restaurants and converts it into a rich fertilizer sold to vineyards and organic farms.

"Now, the city's asked us to look at dog waste specifically," Reed said.

Because animal waste contains disease causing germs, composting it at home with yard waste and food scraps can be unsafe.

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Dog Poo Power in San Francisco

by Kyeann Sayer, Nomad on 02.21.06

treehugger.com

Science & Technology (alternative energy)

In my part of San Fancisco, dogs and strollers tyrannize the sidewalks equally, so I thought the dog and baby/toddler populations had to be similarly healthy. I did not know that the city's animals produce nearly as much waste as tykes, however. Apparently, at 6,500 tons per year, animal droppings are nipping at the heals of disposable diaper tonage. Not for long. The Associated Press tells us:

The droppings will be tossed into a contraption called a methane digester, which is basically a tank in which bacteria feed on feces for weeks to create methane gas.

The methane could then be piped directly to a gas stove, heater, turbine or anything else powered by natural gas. It can also be used to generate electricity.

We'll keep you posted on this one.

Via the Associated Press at Yahoo! News:: S.F. Examines Power of Dog Droppings.