With the news that the aptly-named Barking & Dagenham borough of East London is set to start DNA testing dog mess in an effort to track down canine owners who are anything but man’s best friend, this evening’s Right Hook is stepping up and taking on what none of us wants to step on.
Those of us who might be tempted to look the other way when taking our four-legged friends for walkies might just be giving up on the newest source of renewable energy. A new appliance has been invented which hopes to convert the mess your dog makes back into electricity to power your household devices.
The invention, the Poo Poo Power, was created by the Geneva-based designer Océane Izard, an owner of three hounds herself.
"I have always believed in the potential of my dogs' droppings,” she says, “I've also lost count of the times I've walked in shit."
A dog owner filling the Poo Poo Power [Océane Izard]
To fuel the device, dog owners pick up their pet’s mess with a biodegradable bag and place it inside the Poo Poo Power. Once inside, bacteria consume the waste, producing methane gas along the way, which can be then converted into power and used to charge battery cells – which can then be used all around the house.
The power levels produced are dependent on the size of the dog providing the raw material, Ms Izard explains.
"For example, for a German shepherd, the amount of poo is different from that of a beagle. For a beagle, it creates between 250 and 340 grams of faeces per day. This allows you to run a fan for two hours.”
A beagle doing his business could power a fan [Océane Izard]
“For a German dog, it's twice as much. It could almost run your fridge,” she adds.
To completely run a house on puppy power, Ms Izard estimates that modern western homes would require at least six or seven dogs per resident.
The Swiss product designer says she hopes her device will revolutionise our attitudes to taking care of our dogs’ messy business.
"For me it should not be taboo," she says. "Dog owners pick up their dog turds every day. This is certainly an ordeal. That's why there's so much in the streets. But with this machine, people will want to bring [home] this precious gift that their dogs do one to two times a day."
A product like the Poo Poo Power, if ever mass produced, could prove to be a blessing to cities around the world. In Paris, for instance, approximately 12 tonnes of dog mess are removed by local authorities from the reeking rues every single day. Most of this is then sent to landfill sites, where it releases huge quantities of methane into the air, a significant contribution to greenhouse gas emissions.
"My project is an opportunity to say it is possible even at a small scale," Ms Izard. "The future of poop is here."
