Pee on the pods

Pee on the pods 7 August 2014 - Urine could be successfully recycled to fertilise crops according to University of Sydney civil engineering researchers who have examined the effectiveness of reusing nutrients from the human waste. Dr Federico Maggi, senior lecturer in the School of Civil Engineering and expert in environmental modelling says there is growing evidence that the use of human urine in agriculture is completely viable. "Our preliminary results indicate that human urine can be effectively used extensively in agriculture to reduce the production and use of mineral commercial fertilisers." "It contains the highest levels of nutrients among all the human excreta and yields considerable amounts of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. These are the most essential nutrients for the growth of plants, and substantially all micronutrients." The researchers believe the model they have developed could be used to increase the effectiveness of urine fertilisation as well as crop yield, substantially lowering costs in terms of supplied nutrient. Fiona Tang Ph.D. candidate, who studied the use of urine during her Bachelor of Civil Engineering degree, explains - "In human urine we have complex compounds that can be broken down into simpler molecules that plants and crops actually want to take up as their food source. Soybean, cabbage, cauliflower for example flourish with it." As part of her undergraduate studies Fiona conducted a survey investigating attitudes towards the use of human urine as a substitution to mineral fertiliser.