Turning beer and food waste into electricity

Katie Herzog smells a bucket of liquid fertilizer that was made from leftover food scraps. (Image grab from a video by Eric Keto/KCTS 9)

A startup company in Seattle is converting half-eaten burgers, spoiled milk and spent yeast from a brewery into electricity and liquid fertilizer.

In this episode of ReInventors, host Katie Herzog visits Jan Allen of Impact Bioenergy to find out how a shipping-container-sized digester converts leftovers into energy. (Watch her get a workout with food scraps and step into a "HORSE.")

ReInventors is produced by KCTS 9 and PBS Digital Studios. Each episode features scientists, inventors and tinkerers who are reimagining the basic elements of our everyday lives.

Full disclosure: Sara Nelson, co-owner of Fremont Brewing, is a member of Cascade Public Media’s board of directors. This video was produced prior to her board appointment in June 2018.

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About the Authors & Contributors

Eric Keto

Eric Keto

Eric Keto is formerly a video producer for Crosscut and KCTS 9.