Mastodawn

So, reading about a #Fertilizer shortage... Specifically, #urea. Um, urea can be made with urine. That's the difference between #BigAg and #RegenerativeAgriculture -- utilizing "waste" in an efficient and sustainable way.

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"Mediocre Bunny" Evelyn 2d ago

@DoomsdaysCW
I wonder what the practicalities on this would be. Not wanting to rain (in any color of shower) - on your urea parade, I just like to think about these things:
- Would national pee production be enough to supply fertilizer needs?(actually probably yes, there’s plenty of NPK in pee)
- How would this resource be collected? Would it be feasible to separate it back out of sewage sourced from waste treatment plants; or would the urine need to be intercepted…
*/

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DoomsdaysCW 2d ago

@Gorfram I'm thinking interception would be the best way to do that. But, I wonder if separation is possible after the fact. It's certainly something to think about... I know there are some folks out there who use "humanure," but is it safe? Also, what about other stuff found in urine -- especially chemo drugs or other medicines that might alter the chemistry of the urine.

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clew 2d ago

Interception is enormously better — makes the urine and the poop more handle-able. BUT unlike the “wash it away” system it has to be handled.

SOIL, aka EkoLay in Haiti, is one of the longest running “container sanitation “ operations I know of, check out their website!

@DoomsdaysCW @Gorfram

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clew 2d ago

The Seattle area does extraction at the end plant and we ship mostly phosphorus east to… orchards, forest re establishment? Engineering and social problem, that was.

Deer Island in Boston might do the same. @DoomsdaysCW @Gorfram

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clew

For a while a professional pathologist in Portland OR was managing his households fecal waste to some very high standard. Wasn’t easy. Very informative.

@DoomsdaysCW @Gorfram