The ZooShare facility can produce enough energy to power up to 250 homes throughout the year. When visitors go to the Toronto Zoo, they probably don’t think of how much manure is being produced by all the animals. However, Deserrai Buunk knows exactly how much poop there is because it’s part of her job to collect it.
Buunk said “at this point, we’re sitting at 500 to 600 pounds in a day,” which makes the job very physically demanding. Buunk is a Grade 3 keeper in the African Savanna section and her role is much more than just collecting poop. She often tends to the animals, observes their habits, and spends time with them.
Even though collecting poop is just one part of the job it actually plays a significant role in the environment. They started the project 10 years ago in a facility called Zoo Share which is located on the zoo site. It converts 3,000 tonnes of zoo manure and 15,000 tonnes of local food waste annually to produce electricity. It can power up to 250 homes per year and it also generates heat and fertilizer.
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