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2017 North Quabbin Garlic and Arts Festival
In September, Rich Earth and Best Septic joined with the producers of the North Quabbin Garlic and Arts Festival in Orange, MA to provide ecological sanitation for visitors at the two day event. “Pee Only” portable toilets and two large outdoor male urinals dubbed the “Pee Pods” collected more than 250 gallons of urine which was later sanitized, tested, and applied to the festival fields.
In addition to storage tanks and one of our custom built urine applicators, Rich Earth brought the mobile pasteurizer to the festival in order to sanitize the urine. Samples were sent to labs for fecal coliform analysis and when the results returned, we were able to apply the nutrient rich liquid gold on a frosty October morning.
With an approval from the Local Board of Health in Orange, and permit exemptions from the Department of Agricultural Resources and the Department of Environmental Protection in Massachusetts, we have successfully extended the reach of urine nutrient recovery into our neighboring state.
The Garlic and Arts team enthusiastically advertised this new addition to their zero waste, annual event and Rich Earth staff went to work creating signage. Additionally Rich Earth utilized the event to capture people’s reactions to “peecycling”.
Funded by the National Science Foundation, we collected over 150 surveys on small electronic tablets. Results will be used to continue to drive the social research component of this multi-year study.
This was a collaboration between many committed and environmentally concerned people and clearly demonstrates the power of working together for a sustainable future.
