1. BREATHE EASY
In contrast to traditional wood fires, biogas burns a smoke-free flame. The resulting improved air quality reduces respiratory and eye-related illnesses, particularly among women and children, who spend the most time indoors. Globally, smoke-related disease kills 4 million people annually—more than AIDS, malaria or tuberculosis.
2. WASTE NOT
BioGas systems create methane cooking gas from the break-down of animal, agricultural and human waste. When these natural byproducts are collected and recycled, less waste runs off into local waterways, resulting in improved water quality and a reduced chance of waterborne disease.
3. DIGEST THIS
The collected organic material feeds into a container buried in the ground (the “digester”), where the anaerobic environment breaks it down, creating methane. The biogas then rises into a storage tank and stays there until it is needed.
4. BLACK GOLD
Digested slurry—the solid byproduct of the decomposed waste—is used as a free, nutrient-rich fertilizer by many poor, rural farmers to help improve crop yields.
5. CLIMATE SMART
Left in nature, the methane emitted by human and animal waste is a potent polluter—each molecule has 20 times the greenhouse gas potential of CO2. Converting that gas into fuel for clean-burning stoves means less methane released into the atmosphere.