EVALUATION OF THE POTENTIAL USE OF URINE AS A NUTRIENT SOURCE IN URBAN AGRICULTURE

Ecological sanitation is a concept based on the recovery of nutrients from human excreta and their recycling back into the environment. The urine-diversion toilet allows for the separation of urine and faeces at source. Urine can be collected and used as a nutritional supplement for plants. This study served as a baseline study for future studies using urine soakaways. It was conducted to determine the effect of urine on plant growth and yield, and to determine the microbiological safety of vegetables grown in soil that was fertilized with urine. Two sets of growth trial were conducted: a preliminary trial conducted in a greenhouse and a semi-field trial. The semi-field trial consisted of three treatments: a negative control that received tap water only, a positive control that received nutrient solution, and the urine treatment, which received urine diluted 1:1 with water. Both trials monitored the growth of beetroot, spinach and petunia plants. Soil and plant microbiological analyses were conducted at harvest. From the findings it is evident that using urine as a nutrient source results in a similar or better plant growth and yield to that obtained using chemical fertilizer. However, this effect is dependent on the soil type. Th