The Rich Earth Institute recycles human urine into fertilizer. This work supports sustainable agriculture and protects vital water resources. Learn More

Our Vision

A world with clean water and fertile soil achieved by reclaiming the nutrients from our bodies as elements in a life sustaining cycle.

Our Mission

The Rich Earth Institute engages in research, education and technological innovation to advance the use of human waste as a resource.

Read our full Vision & Mission and the Core Values that form their foundation.

Events

Join us at one of our upcoming events!
* Check out recordings from the Rich Earth Summit, the global conference on urine reclamation.
* Join us at one of our upcoming “Urine My Garden” webinars, which covers why & how to fertilize with urine in your own garden!

Shop

Ready to start peecycling at home? Pick up a Rich Earth Urine Collector on Etsy. Already fertilizing with urine? Take our Community Science Survey to share your experiences!

Community Guide

Interested in learning more about launching a peecycling program in your own community? Check out Rich Earth’s Guide to Starting a Community-Scale Urine Diversion Program and fill out our Peecycling Community Interest Survey.

In the news

Meet the Peecyclers. Their Idea to Help Farmers Is No. 1.

How Recycling Urine Could Help Save the World

 

 

 

 

 

Peecycling

National Science Foundation (NSF) video about our ongoing research on urine-derived fertilizers.

Watch an animation explaning the basic science and purpose behind urine recycling.

The Facts

9 billion pounds

Amount of chemical fertilizer that could be replaced with the urine Americans produce each year.

320 pounds

Amount of wheat that could be grown in a year with the fertilizer from one adult’s urine.

125 gallons

Approximate volume of urine an adult produces each year.

More than 15,000

Water bodies in the US impaired due to nitrogen and phosphorous pollution.

80 percent

Portion of the nitrogen and phosphorous pollution in wastewater caused by human waste.

1.2 trillion gallons

Amount of drinkable water we use each year to flush toilets.

4000 gallons

Amount of water you could save per year by diverting urine for fertilizer.

270 percent

Increase in phosphorus fertilizer price between 1993 and 2013.

Our Work

Research

The Rich Earth Institute conducts original research in collaboration with academic and industry leaders, examining the safety and efficacy of using urine-derived fertilizers in agriculture.

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Outreach

The Rich Earth Institute has an extensive outreach agenda, educating diverse stakeholders on the science and technology behind this new approach to sanitation.

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Regulation

Urine recycling does not yet have an established regulatory pathway. The Rich Earth Institute collaborates with regulators at the state and national level to develop new policies, codes, and rules to govern urine based on its unique characteristics.

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Latest News

Award-winning NOWRA poster on Nitrogen Removal

Written by Julia Cavicchi. Posted on October 30th, 2023

Arthur Davis (our Operations Director) and Ryan Homeyer (our Research Associate) presented a poster at the National Onsite Wastewater Recycling Association (NOWRA) national conference, representing our spin-off company Brightwater Tools. The […]

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