Urine contains roughly 80% of the nitrogen and 50% of the phosphorus found in human waste [2]. Technologies exist to convert urine into struvite (a crystalline fertilizer) and concentrated liquid fertilizers.
For vomit: treat as a wet organic waste. Mix with dry sawdust or cat litter, seal in a bag, and add to a hot compost pile or biogas digester. Avoid handling when ill.
Urine, which accounts for approximately 1-2% of domestic wastewater, is a rich source of nutrients, including nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. These nutrients can be harnessed and converted into valuable products, reducing the need for synthetic fertilizers and minimizing waste.
While urine recycling offers a promising solution to address water scarcity and waste management challenges, several challenges need to be addressed:
The ISS utilizes a complex distillation and filtration system capable of recovering up to 98% of all water onboard, including urine, breath condensate, and sweat.
At first glance, the phrase "piss spew recycle" sounds like the tagline for a dystopian punk rock band or the angry scribble on a bathroom wall. It is vulgar, visceral, and intentionally off-putting. But if you scrape away the abrasive surface, you will find one of the most critical, life-affirming, and scientifically fascinating concepts of the 21st century.
At first glance, grouping these three words seems deliberately shocking. But for aerospace engineers, survival experts, and water sustainability researchers, the phrase captures a critical challenge: Human urine is 95% water. Vomit, while less predictable in composition, also contains significant water alongside electrolytes, stomach acids, and partially digested food. In any closed environment—a spacecraft, a bunker, a drought‑stricken city—leaving these fluids untreated means throwing away life‑giving resources.
Onboard the ISS, water weight is a major logistical bottleneck. NASA uses an Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) that successfully recovers of all moisture aboard the station, including urine and sweat. This system processes the liquid until it is cleaner than most municipal tap water on Earth. Municipal Closed-Loop Water Security
[Human Waste Product] ──> [Filtration & Distillation] ──> [Pure Drinking Water] │ └──> [Nutrient Concentrates for Hydroponics]
The phrase “piss spew recycle” may be deliberately provocative, but it captures a profound truth: Urine and vomit are not dirty secrets to be flushed away and forgotten—they are reservoirs of water and nutrients. By recycling them intelligently, we can drink, farm, and breathe a little easier, whether we’re 400 kilometers above Earth or struggling through the next drought on our home planet.
Education helps change people's minds. Once people learn that the recycled water is completely pure, they feel safe drinking it. Clean water is defined by how clean it is now, not by its past.
"Piss spew recycle" may startle the polite listener, but it represents the undeniable future of human survival. Whether we are traveling to Mars or trying to keep Earth habitable, we can no longer afford to view waste as garbage. We must view waste as a resource.
Injecting CO₂ into concrete curing processes creates stronger materials while permanently storing the carbon [3]. Wastewater and Industrial Effluent Recycling