BRATTLEBORO — Public appeals for money and volunteers are commonplace, but Rich Earth Institute seeks households willing to donate urine for its Urine Nutrient Reclamation Project.
According to Abe Noe-Hays, research director of Rich Earth Institute, urine is rich with nitrogen and phosphorus, which is what farmers need for fertilizer.
Last year, thanks to 170 local urine donors, REI recycled 3,000 gallons, he said. The goal this year: 6,000 gallons of urine for EPA- and USDA-funded studies.
The research will establish best practices for fertilizing hay with urine and examine the persistence of pharmaceutical residuals in plant tissues, soils, and groundwater when urine is used to fertilize plants.
Volunteer households were at the heart of collection success over the first two summers of research, Noe-Hays said.
Collection is straightforward with the supplies that REI provides: for men, a waterless urinal made from a 5-gallon jug with an attached, odor-blocking funnel. For women, a urine-collecting toilet insert called a “nun's cap,” used in hospitals, which can then be poured into a collection jug.
Noe-Hays said REI is partnering with Best Septic of Westminster West to provide odorless, urine-collecting portable toilets at summer festivals and private events in the region - including Strolling of the Heifers in Brattleboro and SolarFest in Tinmouth.
Best Septic is also transporting urine from 55-gallon storage drums and 275-gallon tanks to pasteurizing sites at local hay farms participating in the study.
REI Administrative Assistant Kim Nace said the project is off to a good start, and that, “with our expanded research and additional farms, we are eager to collect, process and experiment with thousands of gallons of nutrient-rich 'liquid gold.'”
Rich Earth Institute will register volunteers at the Brattleboro Farmer's Market and at the Strolling of the Heifers Fair on June 7.