Science Museum looks to "poo power"

LONDON (Reuters) - The Science Museum says it is considering a radical way of paying its hefty energy bills -- using visitors' poo.


The central London museum said it was considering taking the waste from its 14 toilet blocks and converting it into electricity.


"With free admission it would be a great way for visitors to give something back to the museum and help keep the overheads down," said the museum's head Jon Tucker. "We have almost 3 million visitors each year and have huge electricity bills."


The museum said the plan would be to siphon off excrement from the toilets, store it and then either burn it as fuel in a mini-power station or turn it into electricity using a microbial fuel cell.


The power produced from the excrement of 100,000 visitors could produce enough to power 500 light bulbs, while also breaking down harmful organic matter, it said.