Valuable nutrients are extracted from urine and used as fertilizer using a new recycling process. The Semadeni Plastics Group produces the packaging material of the fertilizer, consisting of 100% recycled PET, and thus makes a further important contribution to the recycling economy.
Summer was hot – "drink a lot" was the advice. And whoever drinks a lot also needs to go to the bathroom more. Each of us produces around 500 liters of urine per year. That’s a lot! For the most part, urine goes into the toilet and is flushed down the drain. So far so good. Or is it?
Urine contains important substances
Even important substances in urine like nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, boron, iron, zinc, etc. are simply flushed away. What a waste! It would be so much better to recycle these substances and keep them in circulation. This is exactly what the young company Vuna GmbH in Dübendorf, Switzerland, is dedicated to doing: They produce a plant fertilizer made of recycled urine – the product known as AURIN!
A natural fertilizer – organically produced
The primary ingredient in AURIN is human urine – available all around the world as a raw material. This helps to eliminate long transport routes and high energy consumption. AURIN also does not contain any heavy metals, all harmful substances are eliminated during the manufacturing process. It remains a natural nutrient for plants. And the unpleasant smell of urine is simply not a factor, since the substances responsible (such as ammonia) are removed beforehand.
Sustainable packaging
This packaging is manufactured from 100% recycled PET by Logo Plastic GmbH in Königstein (it belongs to Semadeni Plastics Group). Old bottles become new bottles. This ensures that old bottles won’t pollute the environment and become trash in the ocean or countryside. What’s more, energy is saved because the material only needs to be reprocessed rather than produced from scratch. The packaging is also bisphenol A (BPA)-free.
Officially certified
Aurin has been approved as a fertilizer by the Swiss Federal Office of Agriculture. Ten plants can be fertilized for five months with a 500ml bottle of Aurin. This innovative and sustainable fertilizer can be ordered on the Vuna website www.vuna.ch/aurin/ There is also a list of shops that sell the fertilizer.
