“Peecycling” is in actual fact nothing new, although most people may not have heard of it; it is basically the recycling of urine for fertiliser and can be traced back to around 1867.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), human urine contains significant amounts of nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus. These nutrients can cause problems in rivers and streams, causing algae to bloom to such an extent that it can consume all of the available oxygen, creating a dead zone, which is why wastewater treatment facilities must remove them before the water is released back into the rivers.
While the nutrients in urine are not good for our waterways, the nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus are exactly what make for great fertiliser. Unfortunately, most individuals have a problem with human waste products and balk at urine to grow food, whereas it is perfectly sanitary after pasteurisation.
Peecycling, or using urine diversion for fertiliser, has in fact become rather popular in countries such as Sweden, Finland, and the Netherlands over the past decade or two. Amsterdam’s water utility facility, Waternet, held public demonstrations to encourage men to utilise public urinals to collect urine to be used in rooftop gardens.
National Geographic Emerging Explorer and grantee, soil scientist Sasha Kramer started a non-profit group, Sustainable Organic Integrated Livelihoods (SOIL), which has been installing dry composting toilets in Haiti since 2006. These toilets convert human waste into useful fertiliser, thereby hopefully helping to address the poor sanitation in the country as well as creating employment and providing fertiliser for agricultural purposes.
There are, of course, certain conditions to using urine for gardening purposes:
- Ensure that there is no faecal contamination; urine must be 100% pure to be sterile;
- Do not use urine of someone who has a urinary tract infection or is taking any form of medication in an edible garden;
- When using urine from multiple individuals store the urine in a sealed container for 6 months before using it; and
- Wait a month before eating any crops on which urine has been used as a precaution, especially if it is not your own urine.
Urine is extremely high in nitrogen, and not all plants need so much every day, so choose plants that need lots of nitrogen, such as squash or corn, and cucumbers and tomatoes during their fruit-bearing stage; older plants that need a boost will also benefit from your urine.
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