Dolly and Mimi, two pachyderms at
the Denver Zoo, will soon be earning their keep if plans go ahead for a
first-ever project aimed at recycling the zoo’s waste into energy.
Dolly and Mimi, two pachyderms at the Denver Zoo, will soon be earning their keep if plans go ahead for a first-ever project aimed at recycling the zoo’s waste into energy. Zoo management is contemplating constructing a $1.5 million gasification plant to super-heat waste – including the 75 tons of elephant manure produced annually by Dolly and Mimi – to generate electricity.
This could cut the facility’s electric use by 15 percent and heating bill by 17 percent, resulting in an annual savings of $85,000. It would also reduce the zoo’s yearly waste hauling by 450 tons. Interest in the plan was sparked as zoo officials contemplated expanding the facility’s Asian exhibit with the addition of eight bull elephants.
Basically, the zoo’s pachyderms would be responsible for heating their own habitat.
