Toronto Zoo animal poop to help generate city’s electricity

Elephant poop is one of the smelly secrets behind a planned project for power generation in Ontario.

Thika the elephant, along with the rhinos and other Toronto Zoo animals, might soon have a new job helping Ontario residents switch on the lights. But Thika won't find the work of creating electricity too hard. She only has to eat and defecate to do her part.

ZooShare Biogas Co-operative issued a statement saying the Ontario Power Authority had offered the company a contract to build a biogas plant at the Toronto Zoo that will recycle manure from zoo animals along with food waste to create electricity.

A similar project on a farm in Maine that recycled manure from 1,800 cows along with food waste delivered from all around the region produced enough electricity for about 800 homes, according to the Morning Sentinel. The newspaper reported the process this farmer uses, dubbed 'cow power,' has become a profitable and environmentally-friendly solution.

ZooShare said its project will produce enough electricity for about 250 homes using the zoo's manure — which weighs about the same as 15 pandas — and leftover food from grocery stores in the Greater Toronto Area. The company says its plant will send the electricity into the province's power grid.

Cow power might soon be saying hello to its new partner in manure energy — rhino power.