Liquid Gold

Every time we flush, we send a valuable resource down the drain: phosphorus, one of the essential building blocks of life and a key ingredient in the fertiliser that grows the world's food, along with nitrogen and potassium. Meanwhile, we mine phosphate rock and potash, and generate climate pollution to manufacture ammonia (rich in nitrogen) to produce industrial fertiliser - essential for growing food to feed a hungry planet But what if, instead of extracting our fertiliser in ways that damage the planet, we harnessed the waste our own bodies produce, feeding it back into the food chain, where it belongs? In this episode, host Angelica Ojinnaka-Psillakis traces how humans went from managing waste locally to flushing it away without a second thought. And with researchers Jordan Roods and Kerry Tozer, she explores the growing movement to recover nutrients from urine and turn them back into fertiliser — from university labs in Sydney, to a redesigned toilet prototype, and to a community-scale ‘peecycling’ program in Vermont. Voices Angelica Ojinnaka-Psillakis — host; health and social researcher Nicola Cama — historian, City of Sydney Michelle Maloney — legal scholar, advocate for earth-centred governance Kerry Tozer — doctoral researcher, Institute for Sustainable Futures, UTS Jordan Roods — doctoral researcher, Institute for Sustainable Futures, UTS Dana Cordell — associate professor, UTS; research supervisor to Kerry and Jordan Cara Beal — professor of environmental science and health; director, Cities Research Institute, Griffith University Abe Noe-Hayes — Rich Earth Institute, Vermont Have your say Jordan and Kerry have put together a short anonymous survey to hear what listeners think about urine recycling – "peecycling"! – and the problems it could solve. The survey link is in the show notes on the episode page. Participants who share their contact details go into a draw to win one of three $50 AUD Visa gift cards. Please make sure you read the participant information sheet and complete the consent requirements before completing the survey or uploading any audio or video that could identify you. Try it for yourself You can purchase your own bottle of eco-friendly urine-derived fertiliser to sprinkle on your plants via this link: https://www.nicegreentech.com/products Further reading You can find plenty of fact sheets and articles about the future of urine recycling and a circular nutrient economy at the NiCE Hub website. You can learn more about the Rich Earth Institute here. Credits Host: Angelica Ojinnaka-Psillakis, with Jordan Roods and Kerry Tozer Producers: Britta Jorgensen and Celine Teo-Blockey Sound Engineering: Melissa May Additional Music: Om Bhandari Cover Art: Alexandra Morris Editorial Support: Jane Curtis, Michelle Ransom-Hughes, Tamson Pietsch, Rachael Cusick Executive Producer, Impact Studios: Sarah Gilbert Thanks also to: Professor Ho Kyong Shon, Dr Ibrahim El Saliby, Associate Professor Jan-Olof Drangert, Professor Cara Beal, Dr Michelle Maloney, Dr Haley Joyell Smith, Gary Leeson, Mark Dunn, and Ed Hickson. Liquid Gold is an Impact Studios production.