Yorkshire Water has thrown open the doors to the world’s first ever poo-powered pub, in celebration of the company’s ambition to become net zero carbon by 2030.
In what is the first time a public space has been powered by electricity made from poo, The Number Two Tavern is launching for a limited time in The Light, Leeds from 7th until 9th November.
The company is holding its first ever carbon week to spread the word and share knowledge about how we can all reduce our carbon footprint. This is where the poo pub comes in, as a space to start a conversation about climate change in the region and to celebrate the steps that the business, and its partners, are taking to become net zero carbon.
Designed as a traditional Yorkshire pub, The Number Two Tavern, based at The Light – a leisure destination in Leeds – will serve water through a unique “pub style” water pump – and punters will be able to take pictures on the pub’s ‘throne’ – a prop toilet.
Gordon Rogers, Head of Sustainability at Yorkshire Water, pulls the first pint of ‘Yorkshire’s finest’ at The Number Two Tavern
The power for The Number Two Tavern is coming from a ground-breaking process, called “anaerobic digestion”, which converts waste into bio-gas that can be used to generate heat and electricity. Yorkshire Water has charged a Hybrid Power battery with the poo-power, which is being created at Yorkshire Water’s Knostrop Recycling Centre. This means that everything requiring electricity in the pub, will be powered by recycled poo.
Yorkshire Water Director of Wastewater Service Delivery, Ben Roche, said: “We’re excited to be showcasing the future possibilities of renewable energy by opening the world’s first poo-powered pub in Leeds. The Number Two Tavern is a way of showcasing how we are recycling materials to generate low carbon and renewable energy through anaerobic digestion, helping to lower our carbon footprint and become more self-sufficient.
“Making sure we deliver high quality drinking water and return clean wastewater to the environment is an energy intensive job which results in substantial amounts of greenhouse gas emissions. This is why we are working hard to reduce our carbon footprint and deliver energy efficiencies, as part of our pledge to become net zero carbon by 2030.
“As a water company, we are at the forefront of responding to climate change as we see, every day, the impact of today’s variable and extreme weather on our environment. We know that more needs to be done to tackle climate change, and it is our hope that the opening of our poo pub this week will help spread this message, showcasing what could be possible as we move towards a lower carbon and more sustainable future.”
Ben Roche, Director of Wastewater Service Delivery at Yorkshire Water, opens the world’s first poo-powered pub
Danny Jones, Joint MD of Off Grid Energy, the provider of the battery storing the poo power for The Number Two Tavern, adds: “The project is a great demonstration of how creative thinking can join up different technologies and resources to deliver sustainable ways to go about our everyday business. This is an added dimension in reducing emissions and helping to ensure we have clean air in our towns and cities where the provision of temporary power would otherwise involve the use of a diesel generator.”
The last chance to visit the Number Two Tavern is:
Saturday 9th November: 11am – 5pm
Location: The Number Two Tavern at The Light in Leeds (courtyard level), The Headrow, Leeds, LS1 8TL
For more information, go to: https://www.yorkshirewater.com/
