Click the play button on the video window to the right to see the storyMESA, AZ -- It may sound gross, but the City of Mesa can turn what you flush down the toilet into electricity.
"It's an involved process," said Scott Peterburs, manager at the Northwest Wastewater Treatment Plant.
Since February, the city has been taking what's sent from residents' toilets and sinks and turning it into heat and power.
"I guess, basically, it's human waste," he said. "That's the most friendly or appropriate way to put it," he said.
Call it poop power, waste wattage, or whatever you want.
It's OK to crack a joke because the city does, and so are residents.
In the end, Mesa claims to be saving some serious cash from the program.
"It's a significant amount of money," Peterburs said. "Up to $90,000 a year for this plant."
Other plants across the country have started similar programs. Without getting too technical -- and don't laugh -- it works because our waste is filled with gas.
One of those gases is methane, which can be turned into useable energy.
"If we didn't digest it, it would just go to a landfill," Peterburs said.
Through a process that separates out the methane, the city says it is able to channel thousands of kilowatts of energy, enough to power hundreds of homes.
"We figure it's got to go somewhere, so we might as well use it beneficially," Peterburs said.
And besides being a money-saver, it's also "green," leaving Mesa residents relieved to know that with every trip to the john and every flush, they are giving back to their community.
