Britain uses human waste to fuel its first 'Bio-Bus'

Published March 16, 2015
Britain's first 'Bio-Bus' is ready to begin operating from March 25. — Photo courtesy: YouTube still
Britain's first 'Bio-Bus' is ready to begin operating from March 25. — Photo courtesy: YouTube still

LONDON: Britain's first “Bio-Bus” — which will be running on household waste and human excrement — is ready to begin operating from March 25, said a report published on The Independent.

The bio-bus has been coined as the “poo-bus” — due to the fact that it is powered by human and household waste – and it will operate four days a week from Cribbs Causeway to Stockwood. It runs on biomethane gas and will use waste from 32,000 houses that are in its 15-mile path.

It was officially unveiled in Bristol last autumn.

The bus is operated by the First West of England and depending on the its success, the company is considering implementing bio-buses as an official form of transport. First West has become the first company to use gas generated from waste and sewage in Britain, The Independent report stated.

Managing Director James Freeman said: “Since its original unveiling last year the Bio-Bus has generated worldwide attention and so it’s our privilege to bring it to the city, to operate, quite rightly, on Service 2.”

He went on to say, “The very fact that it’s up and running in the city should help to open up a serious debate about how buses are best fuelled, and what is good for the environment.”

The bus will fill up on biomethane at a site in Avonmouth, Bristol. It can travel for around 300km on just one tank of gas, which takes the excrement of five people to produce.

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