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Columnist and Environment

How toilet waste is being rebranded as a valuable resource

From useful nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus to cellulose for construction, there is treasure to be mined in our sewage, says Graham Lawton

By Graham Lawton

26 March 2025

2CBM20E Humorous blue public toilet sign, Koh Samui, Thailand

鈥淯rine separation is alive and well 鈥 along with other ways to recover useful compounds from sewage鈥

Rosanna U/Connect Images/Alamy

Many years ago, I wrote a feature for 最新麻豆视频 about an innovation in waste-water treatment called urine-separation toilets, which, at the time, looked like becoming a desirable accessory for the eco-conscious. To cut a long story short, the Western habit of flushing urine away using clean water then separating it out again in sewage plants is extremely wasteful. Toilets that collect undiluted urine separately and send it off for processing into fertiliser save large amounts of energy and water.…

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