But, WHY?<\/i><\/p>\n
Amsterdam’s utility company, Waternet, launched the Green Urine initiative (yes, really) in order to fertilize public gardens and vegetated rooftops around the city.<\/p>\n
“It turns out that urine is packed with nitrogen and phosphorus, the two main elements of fertilizer,” explains Justin Gammill of Earth911.com<\/a>. “So much so, that when wastewater is treated, the nitrogen and phosphorus are purposefully removed because it would cause insane algae growth when the treated water was added back to a standing water source, such as a lake or river.”<\/p>\n Waternet set up\u00a0multiple urinals in the city that were designed to process the urine in such a way that “struvite” (magnesium ammonium phosphate) is extracted and dried to a powder that can be used to help plants grow.<\/p>\n Photo by alan_adriana via Inhabitat.com<\/p><\/div>\n I guess women aren’t yet … contributing … to the effort. But should I ever visit, I could use my female camper’s GO GIRL!\u00a0FUD (female urinary device)<\/a> that allows me to stand when, I, uhm, take aim. Along with maybe a portable privacy curtain?????? Good heavens.<\/p>\n Andri Antoniades of TakePart.com<\/a> writes, “Waternet is just the latest group to jump on the pee-cycling bandwagon. In 2007, researchers in Finland actually did go door-to-door collecting urine from locals. That untreated wastewater was used to\u00a0successfully fertilize small crops of vegetables such as cucumbers and cabbage\u2014all of which the researchers reported tasting delicious.”<\/p>\n Mmmm … had enough?<\/p>\n Just one more thought\u2014Antoniades also argues, “In addition to making agricultural methods more sustainable, urine-based fertilizer could help boost food production and heighten sanitation in developing countries, particularly in small communities where wastewater treatment simply isn\u2019t available.”<\/p>\n Are you seeing the potential here? (Emphasis on the letter “p”).<\/p>\n Go ahead, let your thoughts\u00a0flow. Me? I’m going with<\/em> the flow should the occasion (or peecycling urinal with a DOOR) ever present itself. Now I could stand for that.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span>\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Truth be told, I can hardly even stand to think it … P … Pee (wince) cycling. There. You did read “pee.” Peecycling. Oh, merciful milk cows. Believe it or not, this cringe-worthy concept is for real. In fact, it … Continue reading ![\"Peecycling-Green-Roof-Amsterdam-2-537x402\"](\"http:\/\/www.raisingjane.org\/journal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Peecycling-Green-Roof-Amsterdam-2-537x402.jpg\")