RECAPTURE Project: Circular Economy Certification and Production of Urine Fertiliser

Only 7% of the world´s wastewater undergoes tertiary treatment. This means wastewater is discharged untreated and contributes to eutrophication, hypoxia and climate change.

SLU developed a way to convert waste (urine) into a valuable product (fertiliser) that is less than a 10th of the weight all in one process, which is being commercialised by Sanitation360.

There are 2 factors limiting transition to an implementable product: 1) need for the recycled product to function with conventional farming equipment and 2) need for a certification to highlight the environmental benefits.

SPCR178 is currently the only applicable fertiliser certification for source-separated urine, yet does not incorporate environmental benefits.

RECAPTURE is a collaboration with SLU, Sanitation360, Ecoloop and RISE, and has 3 short-term goals: 1) optimization of fertiliser formation; 2) review the applicability of SPCR178 certification for urine and other emerging products; and 3) conceptual idea of a tag-on to fertiliser certifications to include environmental aspects.

The long-term objective is to have a product that is certified via a process that enables a circular economy to be built and monitored within the sanitation sector. A targeted outcome is to be seen as a model for other countries to help drive such transition.

The conceptual environmental tag-on for certifications will be a vehicle for other certifying bodies to help transition and scale-up the use of recycled sanitation-derived products.