Urine the Hamptons
by Nina Friscia
The Rich Earth Institute (REI) in Brattleboro is changing the paradigm of what we know as waste. Think nutrient recycling. Most people consider urine a waste product. REI wants “peecycling” to be a mainstream idea.
Urine is readily available, free and sterile. It is naturally rich in nitrogen, potassium and phosphorous – the very nutrients plants need. Using urine as an alternative to chemical fertilizers not only is sustainable but also enriches the soil by adding beneficial microorganisms.
The REI urine reclamation project is the first legal and documented community-scale agricultural field trial in the United States. Since 2011, its founders Kim Nace and Abe Noe-Hays have received grants from the US Department of Agriculture and have been selected for funding from the Environmental Protection Agency for future research and development.
Last year, I went to Brattleboro, Vermont to visit Kim Nace at her home, which is also the headquarters of The Rich Earth Institute. We took a tour of her home and basement. She showed me the urine collecting tank and the receptacles used for collecting the solid waste. It was a very clean, no-odor set up that would be fairly easy and low cost to install. I used her urine diverting compost toilet, which to my surprise was odorless and a pleasant experience.
At this point the project is on a small scale. In 2013, 3,000 gallons of urine were collected in Brattleboro. The urine was sanitized by solar heat (solar oven) to 158 degrees F then mixed in a 50/50 water to urine ratio and used to water test plots of hay.
Collecting urine and using it for agriculture is an ancient practice. For the past decade, research and field trials have been ongoing in countries including Finland, Sweden and the Netherlands. Besides Europe, countries in Africa and Asia have also used urine as a viable fertilizer resource.
The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that human urine makes up one percent of domestic wastewater treated at most facilities. That one percent comprises 80% of the nitrogen and 55% of phosphorous found in wastewater.
Waste systems on the east end of Long Island are generally two-compartment septic tank systems and cesspools. The majority of septic tank systems do not have a drainfield, which is an added protection for further treatment of waste before nitrogen and pathogens start percolating into the soil. Unfortunately for us, this leaves a great deal of nitrogen left to leach out into the soil and find its way into groundwater and surface waters.
Why is adopting urine as a fertilizer compelling to members of the Accabonac Protection Committee?The aquifers that supply our drinking water are now showing higher levels of nitrogen pollution than ever before. Our bays are suffering from algal blooms as a direct result of septic seepage by submarine groundwater discharge (SGD). Coastal water pollution is becoming a bigger problem for Suffolk County.
There are numerous obstacles for closing the nutrient gap to consider: Suffolk County Health Department, zoning regulations, costly installation of urine diverting toilets, locating septic removal contractors who would collect, store and sanitize urine, more testing and data on the breakdown of pharmaceuticals and probably the most difficult for our society would be transcending the “ick factor”. Even with all these impediments, reclaiming urine for agricultural purposes needs serious consideration. Removing the accumulation of the nitrogen in our soils and water would create a healthier eco-system and safeguard our aquatic environment… and isn’t that why urine the Hamptons?!
