BRATTLEBORO, Vt. – As spring comes around the bend and farmers prepare to apply fertilizers to their emerging crops, we are faced with a global crisis in fertilizers once again, threatening farmers’ livelihoods and food supplies. Global conflicts and energy disruptions continue to expose the fragility of the systems on which modern agriculture depends – systems tied to fossil fuels, international trade routes, and energy-intensive industrial production.
Yet an abundant source of fertilizer is produced every day in our own communities.
Every year, Americans urinate $50 billion worth of nutrients that could replace one-quarter of all synthetic fertilizers used in U.S. agriculture. Yet most of these nutrients are flushed away with drinking water and sent through wastewater systems, where they often contribute to pollution in watersheds rather than nourishing crops.
Two organizations working to change that are Rich Earth Institute and Brightwater Tools, which are hosting a public open house to share the latest updates from their work advancing nutrient recovery and circular sanitation.
Since 2012, Rich Earth Institute has operated the nation’s first and largest community-scale urine recycling program, safely transforming human urine into fertilizer used by local farms. The nonprofit’s research, education, and demonstration work shows how communities can reclaim nutrients, reduce water pollution, conserve clean water, and support farmers with locally sourced fertilizers.
Brightwater Tools, a company that grew out of Rich Earth’s work, develops practical technologies that enable nutrient recovery systems to be implemented at larger scales. The company designs equipment that transforms diverted urine, full-toilet waste (“blackwater”), and food waste digestate into high-quality fertilizer products, including innovations such as pasteurizers, freeze concentrators, and charcoal filtration systems. They will share highlights from their pilot sites both in the U.S. and across Europe.
Together, these organizations are part of a growing global movement to complete the nutrient cycle by recovering valuable nutrients from waste streams, such as urine, food scraps, and wastewater, helping build more resilient and sustainable food systems.
At the open house, hosted at the two organizations’ joint research center, 355 Old Ferry Road in Brattleboro, on Thursday, April 30, from 4:30-6:30 p.m., visitors will have the opportunity to tour the nation’s first and largest community-scale urine recycling facility; meet engineers, researchers, and educators working at the forefront of nutrient recovery; hear from farmer partners through short videos about on-farm urine fertilizer research; explore innovative nutrient-cycling technologies, including urine-diverting toilets, treatment systems, and fertilizer application equipment; and learn how circular systems can support healthier farms, cleaner waterways, and more resilient communities.
As global disruptions continue to reveal vulnerabilities in our food and infrastructure systems, local solutions like nutrient recycling offer a powerful opportunity to rethink how communities manage resources – and turn waste into abundance.