Your house powered by pooch poop? Yes, because scraping dog poop off your shoe, now that’s something most people have been frustrated with for a long time. That’s never happened with my dog, Kahlua….nooooooooooooooooooo……shhhh.

Did you see the movie “Milk”? The movie of Harvey Milk, supervisor of San Francisco who at that time passed a law forcing people to pick up the poop or get slapped with big fines. Apparently, residents of San Francisco still strictly abide by this law, as they should, with a city that has about as much green grass for dogs to dump as downtown Tokyo.

So, my home town, San Francisco takes the Hart of Green Award for Most Creative in Green… as we harness the power of methane in doggie doo so it can be used for heating homes and generating electricity. And while I’m handing out awards, the winner for coolest state in America for protecting wild Turtles..is….Florida.

We use biodegradable bags and dog-waste carts to pick up the poop in one of San Francisco’s most popular dog parks.

Waste is run through a methane digester, a tank in which bacteria break down the feces to create methane. This biofuel is then piped directly to a gas stove, heater, or anything else powered by natural gas.

What a great opportunity to turn this nuisance into something positive.

From Food Scraps to Dog Doo

I didn’t know this fact until today. Wow! Known for its green credentials, San Francisco already uses several recycling programs to divert almost two-thirds of its household garbage away from landfills. The city aims to divert all of its waste from landfills by 2020.

The poop-to-methane project is an extension of another bio-recycling program the city initiated ten years ago, when it began collecting food scraps from houses and restaurants and turning them into fertilizer for vineyards and organic farms.

Today 300 tons (272 metric tons) of food scraps are collected every day from more than 2,000 restaurants and tens of thousands of homes.

I have lots of respect for Norcal, our garbage people. They are leading the nation as we have the most forward-thinking recycling program in the United States.

Take a guess how much of all the garbage collected is animal feces? 3.8 percent here in the bay area. Most cities are under 1%.

The high percentage is not surprising considering that San Francisco is home to an estimated 120,000 dogs, far more than there are children.

San Franciscans may be responsible about cleaning up after their dogs. But most of the droppings are wrapped in plastic bags and end up in landfills, where the waste may sit for generations.

If it’s not picked up, animal waste may dissolve into the soil and flow into the groundwater.

Breaking It Down

Most anyone I talk to is jazzed about the carts that have popped up around the city near parks where we can recycle poop.

The reaction from dog owners in San Francisco has been overwhelmingly positive.

The reaction from the dogs we could reach for comment basically did what this Jack Russel likes to do.  You know, gnaws on delicious denim for a quick second, then expects a kiss. That’s why we love dogs so much. Most everything they do is so cute it’s almost unbearable, in a good way.

I called over to the garbage company, Norcal, and was curious how many people a day are asking about [the program]. Pretty cool. Nearly 20 to 30 people call in everyday and are asking how they can volunteer to make sure it’s a success

One more thing, Since starting Hart of Green, my view of who’s innovating with remarkable new green solutions has changed quite a bit. My awareness of eco-activity across the world let alone in my hometown, was fairly shallow.

New illuminations are blooming around us, with countries providing a unique contribution with diversity of green initaitives that at times have left me breath taken. Each culture, worldwide is galvanizing their green to give love to the planet and ultimately making life more efficient and balanced.

Raise A Green Dog - Lets see it on YouTube…. ready?