The treasure in our toilets

Published: March 24, 2020, 3:06 a.m.

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Human sewage contains lots of valuable nutrients, so should we be recycling it?\\n \\nOne of these nutrients is phosphorus, a key ingredient in fertiliser. We need fertilisers to meet the demands of the planet\\u2019s growing population, but there is a limited supply of phosphorus. Once it finds its way into the sea it becomes impossible to recover.\\n \\nAnd yet we all excrete about half a kilogram of the stuff a year, making cities a potentially rich source of the element. In the Netherlands human sludge is already being processed to recover phosphorus and recycle it into a high-tech fertiliser which will not leach into the environment.\\n \\nReporter: William Kremer\\nPhoto: Getty images

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