Greenest Before Dawn

This Saturday, I went to hear a talk in Berkeley on “Liquid Gold” by Carol Steinfeld. She’s written a book on the subject ( Liquid Gold),

“Liquid Gold: How to Use Urine to Grow Plants (Safely!)”

…Every day, we urinate nutrients that can fertilize plants that could be used for beautiful landscapes, food, fuel, and fiber. Instead, these nutrients are flushed away, either to be treated at high cost or discharged to waters where they overfertilize and choke off aquatic life. Join us for a lighthearted but practical talk about how urine – which contains most of the nutrients in domestic wastewater and usually carries no disease risk – can be utilized as a resource. We’ll discuss three ways to grow away urine – composting, urine-graywater system, and urine fertilizing – safely and without odors. We’ll make a small urine-graywater planter and look at ways to make easy, inexpensive urine-diverting composting toilets.

I did more research and found some good resources on web. The idea of re-using urine and feces is compelling. See eco-san.