摘要：
美国旧金山在城市垃圾的循环利用上一向走在世界前列，而眼下该市有关机构又将目光锁定在了那里的狗狗们身上，试图使旧金山成为全美国第一个将狗粪直接转化为能源的城市。
San Francisco, a leader in urban recycling, is preparing to enlist its canine population for a first in the United States: converting dog poop into energy.

美国旧金山在城市垃圾的循环利用上一向走在世界前列，而眼下该市有关机构又将目光锁定在了那里的狗狗们身上，试图使旧金山成为全美国第一个将狗粪直接转化为能源的城市。

据路透社2月22日报道，诺科尔排泄物系统公司是旧金山一家专门负责垃圾处理的企业，该公司发言人罗伯特·里德表示，该市此前进行过的一项研究发现，在从旧金山居民家庭中收集到的所有垃圾里，动物排泄物所占的比例大约为4％。这些粪便通常都被送进了当地的垃圾填埋厂。据估计，目前约有12万只狗生活在旧金山市内。里德说："市政当局请我们开始准备一份循环利用狗狗粪便的试验性计划，其目的在于使被送进垃圾填埋厂的动物排泄物数量得以逐步减少。"根据该计划，狗粪会被倒入一个叫做甲烷蒸煮器的装置中，该装置内"生活"着很多昆虫和微生物，它们先是将狗粪狼吞虎咽地吃掉，然后再排放出甲烷。接下来，人们会把这些甲烷收集到一起加以燃烧，用来发电或是向城市家庭供热。

威尔·布林顿是一位专门从事环境方面研究工作的科学家，同时也是位于美国缅因州的伍兹恩德实验室的所有者和管理者。按照他的说法，美国的狗和猫每年的排泄物约为1000万吨。布林顿说："尽管我们都很喜爱这些宠物，但同时也必须看到，它们会在庭院内或大街上随地便溺，那些排泄物已经成为地下水内所含污染物的一个主要来源。"他还指出，某些欧洲城市，如苏黎世、法兰克福、慕尼黑和维也纳等，正在实施多项生物能源计划以便将动物排泄物转化为燃气。

为了对瓶子、罐子、纸张和其它垃圾加以循环利用，旧金山市实行了一项颇为大胆的计划，到目前为止，该市已经有三分之二的垃圾因为处理及时而没有被送入垃圾填埋厂。根据旧金山有关部门的规划，到2010年时该市垃圾转化率将达到75％，到2020年时将不会再有任何新的垃圾被送到垃圾填埋厂内。

（国际在线独家资讯 张咏）

San Francisco, a leader in urban recycling, is preparing to enlist its canine population for a first in the United States: converting dog poop into energy.

Norcal Waste Systems Inc., the city's garbage company, plans to test collection carts and biodegradable bags in a city-center park popular with dog walkers.

A city study found that almost 4 percent of all the garbage picked up at San Francisco homes was from animal waste destined for the city's landfill, Norcal Waste spokesman Robert Reid said. San Francisco has an estimated 120,000 dogs.

"The city asked us to start thinking about a pilot program to recycle the dog poop in order to cut back adding more waste in landfills," Reid said.

Dog feces could be scooped into a methane digester, a device that uses bugs and microorganisms to gobble up the material and emit methane, which would be trapped and burned to power a turbine to make electricity or to heat homes.

Dogs and cats in the United States produce about 10 million tonnes of waste a year, Will Brinton, an environmental scientist and owner-director of Woods End Laboratories in Maine, said.

"As much as we love them, our pets leave a lot of manure behind them in yards and on the street and that can be a major source of contamination of groundwater," Brinton said.

European cities such as Zurich, Frankfurt, Munich and Vienna are operating biomass programs to turn waste into gas, he said.

San Francisco runs an aggressive program to recycle bottles, cans, paper and other trash and now diverts two-thirds of its garbage away from landfills.

The city's goal is a 75 percent diversion by 2010 and zero new waste in landfills by 2020.

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