A cool new design concept marries composting with clean energy: garbage-powered street lamps. The Gaon Street Light from designer Haneum Lee keeps food waste out of landfills while keeping streets illuminated.
The street lamp features a garbage bin at its base where food products can be deposited. The waste is then composted and the methane from the waste powers the lamp at the top.
There would need to be controls in place to make sure that only food waste made it into the compost bin. If that were worked out, it would be a nice idea for city parks or other areas where people take their food outside. The design gets us thinking about what all could be powered by our waste and that's a success in itself.
via Inhabitat
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written by mel, February 12, 2010
awesome idea. i think innovation is our salvation on energy. there are always food sellers around city parks - you would have to keep vermin out, but good start to the concept!
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written by Fred, February 12, 2010
It is this kind of idea and this kind of reporting which discredits the Green movement.
This idea is crazy. Can you imagine the cost of each light pole having its own methane reactor? Imagine the cost of maintaining the raw materials to each light pole on a regular basis. You would need an army of municipal workers for that.
Then we have the issues of public health, i.e. rotting food in the streets, vermin, noxious smells.
This idea is crazy. Can you imagine the cost of each light pole having its own methane reactor? Imagine the cost of maintaining the raw materials to each light pole on a regular basis. You would need an army of municipal workers for that.
Then we have the issues of public health, i.e. rotting food in the streets, vermin, noxious smells.
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written by BigFella, February 13, 2010
Comosting is an aerobic breakdown of organic material. By its very nature it does not produce methane. Anaerobic digestion produces methane. By converting the methane to electricity for a light this is only 30% efficient in large generator units, worse in smaller systems. If using the methane as the light source there are issues of storing the biogas, and as Fred commented, who is going to feed the lights every day?
Is this a kids school project that somehowgot into the mainstream media, because it is fraught with problems. 1/10 for this one.
Is this a kids school project that somehowgot into the mainstream media, because it is fraught with problems. 1/10 for this one.
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written by Fr. Peter, February 13, 2010
Just use combined wind/solar power for lighting, cheap, clean and available, and compost any 'food waste'. Not that there should be 'food waste' other than veg peelings and the like anyway.
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written by dialtone, February 13, 2010
agree with two of the above posters - what a dumb idea
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