I noticed that at the end they said it reduces acidity (raised pH) and seemed to view that as a benefit. For some it would be, but for others it would be a drawback.

I do see potential in reworking our waste stream to separate urine from feces and using it for crops, but not sure it's practical to do cost wise on a large scale given our current infrastructure.

Seems kind of unsanitary / gross to me..... :) One thing to eat plants that you yourself fertilized ;) , quite another to eat from some strangers fertilization.

Also, people take all kinds of medications that will get thrown into the food supply at higher concentrations then I think we are seeing now in our water supply I would think.

And I know it is sterile, but who knows, maybe some disease or prion could exist in it. Cow eat cow = mad cow, people eating people pee pee = mad humans?! :) We do not need anymore of those.... :)

linchat

I've had the same thought with regard to pharmaceutical residue.

¿Wonder what happens to a cucumber on Viagra?

Terran

The "soil" used in this experiment was 3 parts peat moss and 1 part sand, so any nutrient used would produce more fruit than no fertilizer.

Vis a vis human urine, what about cow urine that is present in most bovine manure that is freely used by gardeners? Most cattle grown for slaughter are heavily treated with antibiotics and growth hormones. And the urine in horse manure?

I think it's odd that many people are more disgusted at the thought of using their own urine as fertilizer than using the urine-containing manure of other animals in their gardens. If we want to be purists, we can cease using our own if we're on medications.

The greater problem is that it's certainly not easy to find wood ash from untreated lumber if it seems like a good idea to use this combination.

I had just read that the pH change from wood ash was temporary as well as the potash value, in that it leached through the soil so quickly.

I too would not want to use human waste in the garden. I use Milorganite only on lawns.

Anney, it seems people are most disgusted by the thought of touching or ingesting OTHER people's urine. Maybe we should recruit folks who work in daycare centers or nursing homes, chances are they are pretty well over that little problem!

Speaking of which, a while back I had a realization about a commonality that puts the lie to the irrational fear of body waste: disposable diapers. For years now we 'developed' worlders have been throwing untold amounts of baby-crap in the trash - most people do not clean out and flush the feces, and certainly not the urine - which then goes to landfills or incinerators. Why aren't trash-collectors and dump workers constantly getting sick from human-borne pathogens?

pnbrown thats a good point I have thought of that myself I know many garbage collectors also sewer plant workers septic system pumpers ect and none of them have died the dreaded poop death or mold ect ect I think of that when people say "just throw it in the trash"

If you ever catch the show Dirty Jobs one week they were hand sorting cloth dipers both baby and adult with nothing but gloves on

also you might notice the grossed out poster also finds conventional farming to be gross

Here's the study. Surendra K. Pradhan was interviewed on CBC radio this week. Discussing the benefits of urine as a fertilizer, on public radio - it's a new day. He suggested a time lapse of a few days between applying the urine and the wood ash, to avoid ammonia offgassing.

By coincidence, or intuition, we've been tossing urine and wood ashes, and occasionally manure, on our scrubby roadside wild rose hedge in hopes it would grow and help block the sight and sound of traffic. The hedge, which was growing virtually in gravel, is now three times the height and breadth it was ten years ago, blooming beautifully, and admired by visitors.

It's maybe not surprising that so much groundbreaking R&D on waste-separating toilets and waste as fertilizer is coming from northern countries like Finland and Sweden. My sister-in-law, an outpost nurse in rocky northern Canada, says heaps of disposable diapers can be seen in the brush around communities from the air as she flies in - there's nowhere or way to bury them.

Here is a link that might be useful: study

Paul, now that hits my gross button - heaps of disposable diapers on the permafrost. What the hell, how can they live with that?

Speaking of which, I wonder how human body waste was traditionally dealt with in permafrost regions? I suppose people spread out their dumps and buried them when the surface of the ground or snow was warm enough. I imagine people have septic systems there now, though I don't know how they can work in permafrost. The waste-water must quickly end up in nearby rivers or the ocean.

It's been known for years to be great for the complexion, especially that from expectant mothers, so what's the fret about? ;-))

Speaking of disposable diapers, my youngest expecting her first child has forbidden anything but cloth diapers! She remembered!

To those that think this is gross or unsanitary, you are probably already eating produce made with human waste. its referred to as biosludge, most municiple water treatment systems sell it as an organic fertilizer