Public Urinals Taking The Piss

Have you ever come across the British expression “taking the piss”? Well todays post is literally taking the piss, as in taking the urine. Waternet, a company based in the Netherlands has come up with a bold concept, whereby the pee from urinals is collected only to be processed into fertilizer which is later used on garden roof tops in city's.

Innovation occurs in weird and wonderful ways. This alternative thinking is what gives birth to these refreshing ideas. The question we should ask ourselves, is how did Waternet come to think of this? Well, as surprising and gross as the concept sounds, Waternet’s logic for doing this is that urine contains an element called Phosphorous. Phosphorous has been identified as a resource which is approaching depletion. This non-renewable resource is an essential component for fertilizer, so for this reason Waternet has decided to harness and use the urine. Moreover, because of the scope of work Waternet is engaged in, it has found that urine creates problems for the company as the phosphorous crystalizes and becomes an obstruction in pipes when being maintained.

Fertilizer

What is important to note is that recently it has been passed by the Dutch Law that the agricultural industry is allowed to use human waste on farms. This concept despite it being quite unusual, is not the only one which has manged to reach the surface. One company has managed to create power out of poo. In the Netherlands it was reported that they planned to use this waste to provide power to more than 9,000 homes. Other countries are planning to enforce this as an alternative source of energy. Watch out for the new development in charging batteries using urine.

Something interesting to point out is that Waternet as part of their preservation efforts decided to organise an advertising campaign which would encourage Dutch people to take a pee in urinals which operate in the form of a game.This approach prevented people from taking a pee in the canals. Take a minute to see the video below:

Waternet is a socially responsible company, sustaining resources and promoting eco-green initiative.It is a matter of time until we see further developments with waste. This could change people’s perspective, making them feel that they are actually contributing to society.

If simple works why make it complicated!