The Bath Bus Company in Great Britain recently introduced into its fleet a bus powered by human and food waste. The 40-seater Bio-Bus runs on gas generated through the treatment of sewage and food waste. This fuel is both renewable and sustainable and the new bus helps to improve urban air quality because it produces fewer emissions than traditional diesel engines.
The gas for the bus is generated at Bristol Sewage Treatment Works, a plant run by a company called GENeco. Apart from installing the gas refueling plant for the Bio-Bus, they are the first company in the UK to start injecting biogas into the national grid network. The Bristol plant treats around 75 million cubic meters of sewage waste and 35,000 tons of food waste, collected from households, supermarkets and food manufacturers, every year. The plant produces enough biomethane to supply over 8,300 homes as well as fueling the bus.
The Bio-Bus can travel about 200 miles on a full tank of the biogas, which takes the annual waste of about five people to produce. Powering the bus in this way is actually not only a way utilize a sustainable fuel but is a way to make it a locally sourced fuel. The bus is powered by people living in the local area, and quite possibly could be the people on the bus itself.
The Bio-Bus runs from the city of Bath to Bristol Airport. Its 10,000 passengers each month will travel in a way that is sustainable and better for the environment.
**********
.
Web Links
Next stop for a sustainable future with the UK’s first poo-fuelled bus
Photo, posted November 22, 2014, courtesy of AllVoices.com
.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.