Toronto Zoo to use poop for power

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TORONTO, June 19 (UPI) -- The Toronto Zoo is joining a program to turn animal waste into power, zoo officials say.

The zoo is teaming up with the ZooShare Biogas Co-operative to make the operational 500 kilowatt biogas plant, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported.

The $5.4 million project is being funded, designed, developed, constructed and operated by ZooShare and will by the first co-operatively owned biogas plant in Canada and the first biogas plant that is zoo-based in North America.

Both manure from the zoo and food waste from a major grocery retailer will go to the proposed plant, which will then be processed into electricity, heat and fertilizer.

ZooShare estimates the program will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 11,023 tons of CO2, or the equivalent of taking 1,800 cars off the road each year.