BRATTLEBORO-The Rich Earth Institute and Brightwater Tools announce the registration of U-Grow, a liquid, urine-derived fertilizer certified for use and distribution. U-Grow is a sustainable, nitrogen-rich natural fertilizer for farms and gardens, available for research, retail, and wholesale. It also supplies significant levels of phosphorus, potassium, and other micronutrients.
U-Grow is made from urine collected through Rich Earth's community-scale urine nutrient reclamation program, "the nation's oldest and largest urine recycling program," wrote promoters in a news release.
This program demonstrates the power of "peecycling" to protect watersheds from nutrient pollution and support local farms with sustainable nutrients.
The urine is collected from over 260 urine donors and processed using pasteurization technology developed by Rich Earth's spin-off company, Brightwater Tools. Additional fertilizers in progress include concentrated urine made with Brightwater Tools' freeze concentrator and nitrogen-stabilized urine under development in collaboration with Aneco's open-source Pitribon technology.
Rich Earth has been a trailblazer in urine-derived fertilizers since 2012, receiving the nation's first permits for urine collection, processing, and land application from Vermont's Department of Environmental Conservation.
The registration of U-Grow marks the first legal authorization of land application of urine-derived fertilizers in Massachusetts. "This milestone is especially significant for coastal communities like Cape Cod, where urine diversion offers a practical tool for addressing an urgent wastewater crisis, and for Western Massachusetts, a hub of interest in sustainable farming," wrote Rich Earth representatives.
U-Grow joins an expanding collection of other registered urine-derived fertilizers in the U.S., including WeeBloom by Wasted*, a powdered phosphorus fertilizer produced using technology from Brightwater Tools; the University of Michigan's urine fertilizer produced on an experimental scale with the full Brightwater Tools treatment train; and Nutrient Recovery Services' struvite and aqueous ammonia fertilizers from the PAE living building installation in Portland, Oregon.
Urine recycling offers dual benefits, said representatives in the news release: producing a sustainable fertilizer while reducing wastewater treatment costs.
Rich Earth's partnerships with Vermont farms have enabled unique agricultural research, and this certification allows the organization to expand its reach, making U-Grow available to farmers and gardeners in Massachusetts as well.
As the fertilizer market faces volatility due to global disruptions, U-Grow offers a steady, locally sourced alternative, supporting resilient food systems.
To learn more about best practices for fertilizing with U-Grow or using urine safely in the garden, visit the garden- and farm-scale guides available on Rich Earth's website. Farmers and gardeners interested in accessing U-Grow should contact Rich Earth Institute.
This Town and Village item was submitted to The Commons.