TAMPA, Fla., Aug. 10 A Florida zoo hopes to make money from the vast piles of poop released by elephants and other large animals by selling it as fertilizer.
If the scheme works, the Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa can get help with its balance sheet two ways. The zoo will no longer have to pay someone to remove and dispose of animal poop while gardeners pay to take it away. Since the four elephants alone produce 200 pounds a day each, the savings on disposal are considerable.
The first Zoo Poo sale is scheduled for next week, the Tampa Tribune reported.
Manufacturing the fertilizer is a complicated process that takes about three months. The poop is mixed with other organic material, including Starbucks coffee grounds, and then left to decompose, a process that generates enough heat to kill any seeds or bacteria. During that time, the poop gets an occasional stirring.
Then the result is sifted to remove wood chips and it is ready for the garden.
"It's just like really rich dirt -- no flies, no smell," said Margaret Bounds, a zoo horticulturalist. "You could grow anything in it."
Copyright 2007 by UPI
