Could Poop Fuel Our Future? New Sewage-Powered Buses Hint at Yes

Bathroom time may not be wasted time after all: A year’s worth of your poop can be turned into 2.1 gallons of useable diesel. And the Norwegian capital of Oslo plans to put all that waste to work powering 80 of its buses with fuel made from the Bekkelaget sewage treatment plant, which houses the waste of 250,000 people. If all goes as planned, the city's other waste treatment plant, as well as biofuels made from food waste, will eventually contribute to the total supply—and with serious results: Fueling 400 or so buses this way would reduce 30,000 tons of carbon emissions a year. While the idea certainly has an "ick factor," it’s not like gas-station attendants will have to start shoveling sewage directly into a bus’ fuel tank. The biofuel is actually made from methane that is collected by a sewage treatment plant after microorganisms break down the waste. ...