Human waste fueled bus finally hits UK roads
The UK's first ever bus powered on food and human waste was rolled out yesterday which engineers believe could provide a sustainable way of fuelling public transport and improving urban air quality as it produces fewer emissions than traditional diesel engines.
The 40-seater Bio-Bus runs on gas generated through the treatment of sewage and food waste that's unfit for human consumption.
The service is run by tour operator Bath Bus Company and will shuttle people between Bristol Airport and Bath city centre.
The bus can travel up to 300 km on a full tank of gas generated at Bristol sewage treatment works - a plant run by GENeco, a subsidiary of Wessex Water.
"Using bio-methane in this way not only provides a sustainable fuel, but also reduces our reliance on traditional fossil fuels and have an important role to play in improving air quality.'' said Mohammad Saddiq, GENeco general manager.
GENeco has become the first company in the UK to start injecting gas generated from food waste and sewage into the national gas grid network and at the same time installed a gas refueling plant for the bus.
"The bus also clearly shows that human poo and our waste food are valuable resources. Food which is unsuitable for human consumption should be separately collected and recycled through anaerobic digestion into green gas and bio-fertilizers, not wasted in landfill sites or incinerators." said Charlotte Morton, chief executive of the Anaerobic Digestion & Bio-resources Association (ADBA).
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