Thread: pee in the pile
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Old 27-09-2003, 05:02 PM
JNJ
 
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Default pee in the pile

Heard at my composting class that human urine is good for the compost
pile.

Maybe if it were pure, but nowadays....

There are a variety of chemicals in a person's urine that would probably not
do well in a compost pile, especially if that person were on medications
(both prescribed and, ahem, "social" medications or libations). Things such
as fluoride (for example) will readily pass into urine, and unless you
grow/raise your own foods there's no telling what chemicals are in the foods
you eat and subsequently in you.

That being said, urine has been used for centuries as a form of fertilizer
(as has untreated excreta, both human and otherwise) -- in many countries it
still is used as such. AFAIK, this is for it's nitrogen content. It's also
used in medicinal and industrial applications.

Either way, I don't think I'd use it on my compost pile -- in this case, it
would be just as easy to pick up a bag of nitrogen to sprinkle over the
pile.

James