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PEEQUAL co-founders Hazel McShane (left) and Amber Probyn with their toilets (PEEQUAL/PA)
Urine from thousands of women running in the TCS London Marathon will be saved from sewage and turned into crop-growing fertiliser.
This will be the third year running that PEEQUAL’s women’s urinals – which are 2.7 times faster to use than other portable toilets – have reduced queues at the marathon.
But this year it is working with fellow Bristol-based start-up NPK Recovery to recycle the urine – helping to reduce the carbon footprint of the world’s most popular marathon.
Marathon runner Susan Farrell is a fan of the PEEQUAL toilets (PEEQUAL/PA)
Urine from nine urinals, positioned at the marathon’s yellow start, will be processed into safe and effective fertiliser for wheat, a crop hungry for urine’s nitrogen content.
The 1,000 litres of urine will be used for field tests to improve the fertiliser and evaluate its performance on wheat.
If used purely for growing, 1,000 litres of urine could help grow wheat for approximately 195 loaves of bread.
Both start-ups hope to one day recycle all urine from large-scale events.
If recycled, the urine from last year’s 53,700 London Marathon finishers could fertilise enough wheat to bake 3,142 loaves of bread, according to NPK Recovery.
Susan Farrell, who is running the London Marathon for the NSPCC, said: “It’s brilliant to think that the nervous wees of thousands of women are helping a good cause.
“I used PEEQUAL’s novel urinals at Glastonbury – their design means they don’t sacrifice privacy and it honestly felt like we were cheating by skipping the queues.
“I used to watch guys breeze through and think, ‘Why can’t we have that?’
“Now we do, and I really hope we get to see them at more events.”
PEEQUAL co-founder Amber Probyn with some of her toilets (PEEQUAL/PA)
Amber Probyn, co-founder of PEEQUAL, said: “We love coming to the TCS London Marathon because we firmly believe that women shouldn’t have to choose between starting their race on time or waiting to go to the loo.
“We’re really proud that 1,000 litres of wee won’t go to sewage, and will instead be recycled into something amazing.”
NPK Recovery uses bacteria to recover naturally occurring nutrients from the urine, creating a liquid fertiliser.
Hannah Vandenbergh, founder of the firm, said: “Urine doesn’t have to be a waste product and we’re excited to be playing a small part in helping support the sustainability commitments of the iconic TCS London Marathon.
“Ultimately, we want to help event organisers all over recycle their urine and reduce their carbon footprints.”
Kate Chapman, head of sustainability at London Marathon Events, said: “Part of our environmental strategy is to try and find an ‘onward use’ for all waste that is generated at our events, for instance composting, reusing, upcycling and much more besides.
“We are delighted that the urine from the PEEQUAL urinals can be used for something so positive rather than going to waste.”
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