San Francisco is working toward turning waste into a resource. This article describes Norcal Waste Management’s plan to use biodegradable bags and dog-waste carts placed in Duboce Park, one of the city’s busiest dog parks, to collect dog poop. After collection waste is tossed into a contraption called a methane digester, which is little more than a tank in which bacteria chew on poo for about two weeks to create methane. The methane can be used for a gas stove, heater, turbine or anything that runs on natural gas. The EPA highlights this project which works toward reaching the city’s goal of diverting 75 percent of its waste from landfills by 2010 while providing a valuable and renewable energy source. This model has already been utilized by the Straus Family Creamery in Marin County. Straus installed a methane digester in 2000, and in a 2004 report prepared for the California Energy Commission, the creamery’s manure-to-energy process met or exceeded expectations. The dairy uses the methane to power the plant, saving Straus thousands of dollars a month in energy bills. This is the kind of forward-thinking solutions that are important when looking at waste problems like the 6,500 tons of dog poop produced in the San Francisco Bay Area every year.

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