Britain's first poo-powered bus takes to the road
Britain's first bus powered entirely by human and food waste took to the road in Bristol on Thursday.
The 40-seater Bio-Bus, running on gas generated by waste treatment, can travel up to 300 kilometres (180 miles) on a full tank—equivalent to the annual output of five people.
Bath Bus Company is using the poo-powered bus for its A4 service from Bath to Bristol Airport .
"Up to 10,000 passengers are expected to travel on the A4 service in a month, not only for airport travel, but also local journeys along the route," said Collin Field, engineering director at Bath Bus.
The gas is produced at Wessex Water subsidiary GENeco's Bristol sewage treatment plant. The company this week became the first in the UK to start providing gas generated from food waste and sewage to the national gas grid network.
GENeco general manager Mohammed Saddiq said: "Through treating sewage and food that's unfit for human consumption we're able to produce enough biomethane to provide a significant supply of gas to the national gas network that's capable of powering almost 8,500 homes as well as fuelling the Bio-Bus.
"Gas-powered vehicles have an important role to play in improving air quality in UK cities, but the Bio-Bus goes further than that and is actually powered by people living in the local area, including quite possibly those on the bus itself."
Charlotte Morton, chief executive of the Anaerobic Digestion and Bioresources Association, said: "Biomethane is capable of replacing around 10 percent of the UK's domestic gas needs and is currently the only renewable fuel available for HGVs."
"The bus also clearly shows that human poo and our waste food are valuable resources," she added.
© 2014 AFP
