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Check it out: Another zoo goes all-in on poo

One of Canada’s premier zoos, the Toronto Zoo, is turning to its animals for their power – their poo power.

The zoo is a partner of a Canadian facility, ZooShare, which is located onsite at the Scarborough tourist attraction. Every day, hundreds of pounds of zoo manure per day are utilized by ZooShare, whose biogas plant went live earlier this year. An estimated 3,000 tonnes of zoo manure – plus 15,000 tonnes of food waste – annually is converted into electricity for 250 homes. The original idea was born in 2007 and has recently come to fruition.

Other zoos in North America have engaged with partners to turn animal waste into power; earlier this year the Cincinnati Zoo and Botanical Gardens paired with Harp Renewables to turn animal dung into power. However, ZooShare marks Canada’s first on-site digester for a zoo.

Pictured: ZooShare founder Daniel Bida