Light Powered by Dog Poop

Dog poop is powering a light at a Boston area dog park as part of a demonstration project that its creator, artist Matthew Mazzotta, hopes will get people thinking about not wasting waste. The "Park Spark" poop converter comprises two steel, 500-gallon oil tanks connected by a pipe and attached to a gaslight-style street lantern. After the dogs do their business, signs on the tanks instruct owners to use biodegradable bags supplied on site to pick up the poop and deposit it into the left tank. People then turn a wheel to stir its insides, which contain waste and water. Microbes in the waste give off methane, an odorless gas that is fed through the tanks to the lamp and burned off. The park is small but has proven busy enough to ensure a steady supply of fuel.

Here's more from Ariel Schwartz at FastCompany.