Nutrient-rich human waste poised to sustain agriculture, improve economies

What about all the drugs and medications?


[link to phys.org (secure)]

The future connection between human waste, sanitation technology and sustainable agriculture is becoming more evident. According to research directed by University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign civil and environmental engineering professor Jeremy Guest, countries could be moving closer to using human waste as fertilizer, closing the loop to more circular, sustainable economies.

A new study characterizes the spatial distribution of human urine-derived nutrients—nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium—and agricultural fertilizer demand to define supply-demand location typologies, their prevalence across the globe and the implications for resource recovery. The findings are published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology.

"The total amount of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium largely remains constant in our bodies, once we stop growing," said Guest, who also serves as the acting associate director for research at the Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment at the U. of I. "Whatever comes in through food and drink must come out in our urine, feces and sweat. Knowing that, we can estimate how much of each of these nutrients is in a population's bodily waste if we know their diet."