Biogas turns kitchen scraps into fuel

The Future. “Biogas,” a mix of gases produced from old organic material, is an alternative power source that could help reduce greenhouse gasses. So far, it’s hardly used (mostly since people don’t know about it or fear that it may stink up communities) but its adoption could power communities in the future, while also taking out the trash.

Waste energy
What if your trash could have a second life by powering your lights? With the harvesting of a gas called “biogas,” that could become a possibility.

• Biogas is a green power source consisting of a mixture of methane, carbon dioxide, and a little hydrogen sulphide and water vapor.
• The gas is produced by microbes that live on organic raw material (apple cores, banana peels, onion peels) that go through an airtight digester container.
• Small biogas-making machines can fit inside a typical kitchen sink, while larger ones can be stored in a shareable community container.

Trash towns

By turning food waste into energy, the use of biogas helps reduce greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere. While implementing these machines may seem like a no-brainer, biogas energy only accounted for 0.004% of European gas consumption in the EU.

Currently, there are only a handful of communities that have adopted their use, including small towns in England (Calthorpe, Hockerton, Gimsby) and an eco-village called Suderbyn on the Swedish island of Gotland.