About 1 — Park Spark

Anaerobic digestion (without oxygen) is a series of processes in which microorganisms break down biodegradable material in the absence of oxygen. Step 1 - Throw dog waste and biodegradable bag in Digester Step 2 - Stir mixture to help Methane rise to the top Step 3 - Burn Methane Basically, any organic material (in this case dog waste) put in an "air-tight" container will start to produce methane. A methane digester is any system that is filled with biodegradable material and closed off from an oxygen supply.

Here is a drawing of the above-ground version of the Park Spark in Cambridge, MA. The tank on the left is the digester, it is designed to be anaerobic (without oxygen). This tank collects dog waste in the bottom of the tank and the methane that comes from the dog waste in the top of the tank. As people put dog waste into this tank it fills up to the level of the outlet pipe (the big pipe which connects the two tanks) and then overflows into the tank on the right (overflow tank), thus keeping the digester tank at a constant level. The small pipe coming off the digester (left tank) is the pipe that brings the methane to the lamppost where it is burned.

AboutContactFurther Info The Park Spark project digester can be above-ground or buried underground except for a feeding tube and a hand-crank, so that people can feed the digester and stir the mixture inside, while the methane is piped to a desired location. As long as people are walking dogs and throwing away their waste, methane will be produced and the flame will burn as an 'Eternal Flame' (shown here as a street lamp)

Once the flame is burning the Park Spark Project becomes about asking park goers to (re)imagine how they live in the city and redirect the heat and light from the 'eternal flame' into a public project. See "Get Involved" on how to propose a project The Park Spark Project is a direct challenge to all park going people . The energy of the digester manifested as an ‘eternal flame’ is evidence of the redundant and unquestioned nature of our behaviors. Once in place, as long as people own pets in the city and throw away dog waste, the production of energy will be continuous and unlimited. Digesters are used all over the world to cook and light spaces. Here the heat and light from the burning methane becomes an opportunity where community participation is key. Anyone interested has the chance to propose a project to redirect the use of the methane from the ‘eternal flame’ to use the gas in exceptional ways. Invite others from the community to put the flame to use – The ‘eternal flame' will burn as a monument until the energy is redirected into another project. Along with the ecological benefits of burning methane also comes heat and light from the flame which becomes an opportunity for other members of the community to appropriate the gas by building a use for this constant source of energy. These projects could include boiling water for coffee, focusing the light to create a projector, powering a street light on a dark corner, etc.

Lets talk about the Environment! When organic material (dog waste, food, landscaping waste, etc) goes to the landfill, it begins to release methane (CH4) into the atmosphere and becomes a potent greenhouse gas. With the current system of dealing with organic waste, methane, an invisible gas, is released into the atmosphere from cities around the world.

A very interesting fact: Methane is known to be 30-70 times more potent than carbon dioxide as a harmful greenhouse gas. When methane is burned in the presence of oxygen, it separates into carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H2O). Even though CO2 is a greenhouse gas, it actually has much less impact on the atmosphere than directly released methane. You can even earn carbon credits from burning methane. As the climate change debate unfolds, farms with animals that produce large amounts of manure, and thus, large amounts of methane, are being targeted as "environmental polluters". However, no attention is brought to the large number of animals in cities, which generate tons of methane each year.

Only the specially designed biodegradable 'doggie bags' provided can be use in the digester

See our short video below for more information describing how it works.

The Park Spark project is based on introducing a Methane Digester into Public Parks to collect dog waste and transform it into Methane.

Here the Methane produced by the Digester is being burned in the form of a lamppost for light.

Methane Digestion is a very simple yet completely mystifying technology. It gets even more interesting when you learn that burning its product (methane) is good for the environment and can actually earn you carbon credits.