The Denver Zoo's Poo-Powered Rickshaw Denver Zoo
Teddy Roosevelt famously said “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” The folks at the Denver Zoo must have thought he was talking crap. The zoo happens to have a lot of animal dung on hand where it is, and via its own patent-pending gasification tech it is doing what it can, introducing a poo-powered rickshaw that turns animal waste and human trash into mobility.
The rickshaw was purchased from Thailand and modified to run on gasified pellets created by the zoo’s own technology. Those pellets, composed of animal waste and garbage generated by human visitors and zoo staff, aren’t just powering the rickshaw, but will be used to generate power at the zoo’s upcoming 10-acre elephant exhibit. Eventually, the zoo thinks it will be able to turn 90 percent of its waste into energy, making use not only of the copious amounts of animal poo it has on hand but also eliminating some 1.5 million pounds of annual garbage waste that previously went into landfills.
The gasification technology was designed by three full-time zoo employees working with a little help here and there from the National Renewable Energy Lab in nearby Boulder, as well as a few other companies and agencies. So it’s a home-grown, DIY system that could presumably be exported to other zoos and anywhere else animal waste is in abundance and energy is needed. This particular rickshaw has already been exported, landing at the Association of Zoos and Aquariums in Palm Desert, Calif., this week.
I have actually thought if this is possible. And now i have found my answer. I think that it is cool that three guys found out how to turn poop into energy. It is also good for the planet that they can reuse about 1.5 million pounds of waste.
ReplyDeleteI think this is awesome. There's plenty of poop I'm sure at the zoo and it's really useful to be able to turn it into energy. They should do this at all the other zoos.
ReplyDeleteI think that this was an amazing idea. This is something i have never thought was possible. This is a cheaper way to get energy then most people get now. I think it would be a brilliant idea if all zoo start to do this like Kenna said.
ReplyDeleteI think that it would be a good idea because it could save energy because you are picking up animal waste and turning it into energy. So you basically just recycling poop into energy.
ReplyDeleteI think is a Great idea because like Kenna said thier is pently of poop in the zoo thats just being thrown away. Why throw something away if it can use as enegry? It might be a stinky job but other than that great idea!
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of the vehicles are powered by trash and waste. it saves tons of energy and more money for a lot of people, not having to buy gas. it's also saving the earth
ReplyDeleteMy favorite part about this is how we're not throwing the waste into a landfill that could possibly take up too much living space and actually have a way to use it. And since we can use human trash to help power it, maybe we could use this for more than just powering zoos. This is a pretty clever idea, especially with the tremendous amount of waste we have in the world.
ReplyDeleteits cool that they can make energy like this. it is very good on the population cause they aren't using something that will polute the atmosphere. plus its cool that only 3 zoo guys made this up.
ReplyDeletei think this is really cool, i like how they are making such useful energy out of waste. i didnt even know you could do this. i like how they are trying to prevent all this waste being dumped on landfills. i think that all zoos every where should do this idea so that we can all prevent the waste dumped onto the landfills. i think its cool that cars are running off energy and waste instead of gas. Doing this it is going to save a lot of money and help the Earth.
ReplyDeleteI think this was a really good idea. It decreases pollution and puts something nasty to use. I would have never thought this was possible but that is a good way to do what you can with what you have.
ReplyDeleteI think them doing that is a good idea because of throwing poop away you can actually use it for useful things,such as using it for energy .So i think its a good idead.
ReplyDeleteThis is a reall good way to save . I wonder why they havent used this idea for other cars .the only negative thing would be the smell
ReplyDeleteIt a cool that three guys came up with this concept. I think this is a really good way to help the environment, it keeps the poop out of landfills and is also creating energy. I'm pretty sure there is a lot of poop in zoos so if they had this every where we could create more clean energy.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great idea. It's better for the planet and we would have another form of energy. They would also be able to save a lot of money and use it towards other things to make the zoo better. This would also prevent bad smells and pollution in places where people live.
ReplyDeletethat is a very smart idea cause instead of gas that coast almost 5 dollars u can save move any time even though will stink little more and be more work and takes almost 1.5 mill pounds of waste to keep full
ReplyDeleteI think that it would be a good idea because it could save energy because you are picking up animal waste and turning it into energy.and since there a lot of animal in zoos. It well be enough energy for a whole year. Every zoo should have this.
ReplyDeleteI think that this is a great ideat! Since there's lots of poop in the zoo they could make it useful to energy. I didn't think this was possible but they provide me wrong. I still wonder if it can be all kinds of animal poo or one certain animal?
ReplyDeleteThis is a really good idea. Animals poop a lot and its perfect to be used for energy. this helps the environment too. I too wonder if its only one animal poop or all?
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