Blog

FAQ: Do nutrients from urine fertilizer still runoff into the watershed? How is that better than the current paradigm?

Written by Julia Cavicchi. Posted on November 10th, 2024. Categories: Uncategorized.

In the conventional paradigm, nutrient pollution can come from both wastewater treatment systems and farms. In a circular paradigm, when we replace imported fertilizer nutrients with locally available urine fertilizer […]

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New Farmer Guide to Fertilizing with Urine

Written by Julia Cavicchi. Posted on August 28th, 2024. Categories: Uncategorized.

The Rich Earth Institute is delighted to announce the release of its new Farmer Guide to Fertilizing with Urine. This resource provides farmers with practical insights into reclaiming human urine […]

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Partner Update: International Plumbing Code (Mathew Lippincott)

Written by Julia Cavicchi. Posted on August 16th, 2024. Categories: Uncategorized.

The Recode Model Code, a public domain code for ecological sanitation, continues to advance into the predominant North American plumbing codes. In December, Model Code contributors reconvened to revise and […]

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FAQ: Is urine fertilizer safe to use, given that urine can contain contaminants like pharmaceuticals and PFAS?

Written by Julia Cavicchi. Posted on July 10th, 2024. Categories: Uncategorized.

The short answer: Some residual pharmaceuticals are present in urine, but soil microbes have a high capacity to degrade them, and controlled field trials have shown that consumers receive no […]

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Rich Earth Palooza: A Celebration of Local Food Cycles

Written by Julia Cavicchi. Posted on June 7th, 2024. Categories: Uncategorized.

Saturday July 6, 1 – 4 PM WINSTON PROUTY: 209 Austine Dr, Brattleboro, VT 05301 Celebrate Brattleboro’s local food cycles at the Rich Earth Palooza–a day of fun & learning […]

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US WASH Convening 2024

Written by Julia Cavicchi. Posted on May 15th, 2024. Categories: Conferences.

Julia Cavicchi (Education Director) and Gretchen Saveson (Research Associate) represented Rich Earth at the US WASH Convening on May 7-8 in Washington, DC. This convening, co-organized by Vessel Collective, Dig Deep, […]

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Rich Earth shortlisted for the Food Planet Prize

Written by richearth. Posted on May 7th, 2024. Categories: Latest News, Uncategorized.

We are delighted to share that we are on the shortlist for the Food Planet Prize! The Curt Bergfors Food Planet Prize is world’s largest environmental award and is dedicated […]

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Partner Update: The Land Institute

Written by Julia Cavicchi. Posted on April 4th, 2024. Categories: Latest News, Uncategorized.

The Land Institute, a non-profit research organization dedicated to developing perennial grain polycultures, launched a urine reclamation project last summer in collaboration with the Rich Earth Institute. Deep-rooted perennials efficiently […]

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Press Release: Transforming how communities treat and perceive wastewater

Written by Julia Cavicchi. Posted on March 26th, 2024. Categories: Research.

Written by: Civil and Environmental Engineering Nearly a quarter of the clean, potable water that flows through US buildings is not used for drinking. Instead, it moves human waste from […]

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On-Farm Research Webinar

Written by Julia Cavicchi. Posted on February 23rd, 2024. Categories: Events, Research.

Fertilizing with Urine: Recent Findings from the Rich Earth Institute’s On-Farm Research  When: Monday, March 18, 11 am – 12 pm ET Register: Free via Zoom Join the Rich Earth […]

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Take Action Today for Compost Toilets in Vermont!

Written by Julia Cavicchi. Posted on January 31st, 2024. Categories: Policy, Regulation, Vermont.

Take action today to unlock compost toilets and greywater systems as a climate resilient alternative to septic systems in Vermont. Vermont’s current rules require composting toilet owners to take their […]

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Award-winning NOWRA poster on Nitrogen Removal

Written by Julia Cavicchi. Posted on October 30th, 2023. Categories: Conferences, Latest News, Research, Technology.

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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Urine Diversion: A Tool in the Toolbox for Cape Cod

Written by Julia Cavicchi. Posted on October 19th, 2023. Categories: Cape Cod, Conferences, Latest News.

IN THE NEWS Cape Cod Faces a Rising ‘Yellow Tide’ Scientific American, February 12, 2024 Cape Cod’s ‘power couple of pee-cycling’ wants you to save that liquid gold WBUR, February 12, 2024 […]

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Abe Presents Keynote at Australia Conference on Urine Recovery

Written by Julia Cavicchi. Posted on September 29th, 2023. Categories: Conferences.

Our Research and Co-Director Abe Noe-Hays traveled to Australia to be the keynote speaker at the Circular Economy For Climate and Environment Conference, held over two days in Sydney. The […]

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Rich Earth Summit: Nov 7-9, 2023

Written by Julia Cavicchi. Posted on September 21st, 2023. Categories: Annual Summit.

We hope you will join us for the 2023 Rich Earth Summit either virtually or in-person in Brattleboro, VT. The Summit will include themed presentations, virtual tours and exhibitions, a […]

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Webinar: Reducing On-Farm Ammonia Loss From Manure through Fermentation Using Whey & Paper Fibers

Written by Julia Cavicchi. Posted on August 22nd, 2023. Categories: Research.

Thursday, September 7th 9 – 10 am Ammonia volatilization from manure is a major source of nitrogen pollution in the environment, and also reduces the fertilizer value of manure on […]

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Peecycling in the Valley: Community Conversations for Franklin County, MA

Written by Julia Cavicchi. Posted on August 5th, 2023. Categories: Events.

Yellowbud Farm applies urine fertilizer provided by the Rich Earth Institute to its tree nursery field in Northfield. After over a decade of recycling urine in Windham County, VT, Rich […]

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We’re Hiring!

Written by Julia Cavicchi. Posted on July 31st, 2023. Categories: Uncategorized.

Rich Earth Operations Technician Put the ‘pee’ in Opeereations Technician, and join the Rich Earth team! We are seeking an Operations Technician to support and report to our Operations Director. You […]

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Urine and Wool in the Rich Earth Demonstration Garden

Written by Julia Cavicchi. Posted on July 20th, 2023. Categories: Gardening.

What happens when you saturate sheep wool with urine and feed it to your soil? The plants in Rich Earth’s demonstration garden say the extra nutrients are pretty tasty! We […]

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Urine Fertilizer at Yellowbud Farm

Written by Julia Cavicchi. Posted on July 15th, 2023. Categories: Research, Uncategorized.

At Yellowbud Farm, farmer Eric Cornell explains that he sees fertilizing with urine as one part of the “symbiosis and the co-evolution of humans and plants.” Through fertilizing with urine, humans […]

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Green Center Advocates for Peecycling in Cape Cod

Written by Julia Cavicchi. Posted on July 9th, 2023. Categories: Cape Cod.

Rich Earth hosted the Green Center for a tour of our urine recycling program in VT. From left to right: Kim Nace, Earle Barnhart, Hilda Maingay, and Arthur Davis. As […]

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Community Connection at the Rich Earth Jubilee

Written by Julia Cavicchi. Posted on July 2nd, 2023. Categories: Events.

On July 1, we hosted a community gathering to celebrate local food and the cycles that sustain our lives. At the Jubilee, we connected the many folks in our community […]

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Rich Earth Jubilee: A Celebration of Local Food Cycles

Written by Julia Cavicchi. Posted on June 20th, 2023. Categories: Events.

Saturday July 1 from 3 – 6 pm at the Brattleboro Commons (rain location: Vermont Jazz Center) Together we can enrich the earth! Join Rich Earth for this family friendly […]

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Watershed-Friendly Gardening

Written by Julia Cavicchi. Posted on June 15th, 2023. Categories: Uncategorized.

At Shelburne Farms, Julia Cavicchi presented our “Urine My Garden” workshop. Our partners at Wasted* also introduced their resource-recovery portable toilet service in the greater Burlington area. Image credit: Wasted* […]

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Nine Urine Pasteurizers Sold

Written by Julia Cavicchi. Posted on June 8th, 2023. Categories: Development, Technology.

Brightwater Tools, Rich Earth’s spin-off company focussed on developing building-scale wastewater nutrient recovery systems, has sold nine of their pasteurizers (patent pending) to partners across the US. It is the […]

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Save the date! Rich Earth Summit: Nov 7 – 9, 2023

Written by Julia Cavicchi. Posted on May 25th, 2023. Categories: Annual Summit.

After a year rich with the growth of new projects, research, and interest from around the world, let’s get ready to gather again at the Rich Earth Summit. Join us […]

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New SARE Research Project Exploring Biochar from Biosolids

Written by Julia Cavicchi. Posted on March 10th, 2023. Categories: Research.

Biochar from Biosolids and Source Separated Human Urine: Soil Health Impacts and Farmer Perspectives We are exploring combining source separated human urine with biosolids-derived biochar and biomass biochar.  We will be investigating […]

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Seated Pee Toilet

Written by Julia Cavicchi. Posted on February 16th, 2023. Categories: Uncategorized.

Rich Earth is excited to become a distributor for a sit-down peecycling toilet that we co-designed with Toilets for People, a local compost toilet business. These pee-only toilets offer an […]

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Peecycling Urinal at Hermit Thrush Brewery

Written by Julia Cavicchi. Posted on January 16th, 2023. Categories: Latest News.

Next time ur-ine Brattleboro, take a leak at the Hermit Thrush brewery! Grab yourself one of their delicious sour beers and once you’ve got to “go”, check out the bathroom […]

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Teaching Future Peecyclers

Written by Julia Cavicchi. Posted on November 16th, 2022. Categories: Education.

This fall, we’ve been talking with youth about how peecycling is an important part of the sustainable future we need. We’ve visited local classrooms, hosted school groups for tours of […]

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