Urine-Fertilizer Machine No.1

2011 I UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED ARTS I STUDIO FIONA RABY

A PROJECT EXPLORING THE POTENTIAL OF HUMAN BIO-MATERIAL AS VALUABLE RESOURCE

Machine, Harvesting Tool, Waste Container, Storage Jar, Watering Can, film

in collaboration with
Maria Karlsen
Kay Kender

What if the private person could be part of the transformation of something considered waste into something precious? Or could even be the basis of this process?
Every human being is a source of valuable organic material. The urine we excrete contains phosphor and nitrogen, chemical substances which are indispensable for the growth of plants.

Urine-Fertilizer-Machine No.1 helps you converting your own urine into magnesium ammonia phosphate, better known as Struvite, a clean white fertiliser powder. Through it, the chemical treasures inside your urine can be set to a purpose. By modifying everyday routine and urinating one time a day in the harvester tool and placing it back on its spot on the machine, you get one gram of homemade fertiliser.

Greens benefitting from human bio-material - a symbiotic relationship.
The hidden value of your urine becomes visible through the thriving of your plants.

a can for watering your plants, a jar for storing your Struvite, a container for harvesting the finished product from your machine

chemical components available for purchase in regular stores

analyzing the shape and dimensions of a regular toilet seat for usability

First time producing Struvite from our own urine