{"id":2371209,"date":"2026-04-13T14:37:15","date_gmt":"2026-04-13T14:37:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2371209"},"modified":"2026-04-13T14:37:15","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T14:37:15","slug":"new-forest-grown-using-fertiliser-from-music-festival-urine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/new-forest-grown-using-fertiliser-from-music-festival-urine\/","title":{"rendered":"New forest grown using fertiliser from music festival urine"},"content":{"rendered":"

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A new forest is being grown with fertilised nutrients recovered from urine \u2013 collected from music festival toilets in a UK first.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The woodland will feature 4,500 native British trees \u2013 grown with fertiliser made from pee from Bristol Pride, Boomtown, the London Marathon, and gigs including Massive Attack and the Sugababes.<\/p>\n

It is being planted on the Breacon Beacons National Park as part of a Forestry Commission-backed trial.<\/p>\n

Behind it is NPK Recovery \u2013 a Bristol-based start-up that collects thousands of litres of urine from portable toilets at festivals and events and transforms them into fertiliser.<\/p>\n

The female-founded company has collected wee from some of the biggest events over the last few years and turned it into fertiliser used to help grow grass back on the land.<\/p>\n

The small team now has ambitious plans to use their fertiliser to grow the forest.<\/p>\n

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NPK Recovery\u2019s urine-based fertiliser. (Pix via NPK Recovery \/ SWNS)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

Scientists within NPK Recovery extract the nitrogen and other nutrients such as phosphorous and potassium in urine to produce fertiliser on site in a natural bacteria driven process that is suitable for crops and trees to take up.<\/p>\n

Recently the team have perfected their own mobile processing system \u2013 a unit that takes up a similar space to a small horse box; two metres wide and six metres long, which they take to events and plug into the back of festival toilets.<\/p>\n

This means they can process the urine into fertiliser as the festival runs right there on site \u2013 easing the burden on the volume of sewage that the event produces and minimising chemical use.<\/p>\n

The team then work with the festival and land owners to put the fertiliser to use on their land or they take it with them.<\/p>\n

The process required to make the product also incorporates biochar \u2013 which is a sustainable material that improves soil health.<\/p>\n

The product has already been used to grow crops such as wheat and mustard \u2013 with field trails indicating it is just as effective as synthetic and commonly used fertilisers.<\/p>\n

Product manager Lucy Bell-Reeves said the company is determined to spark accessible conversations about sustainability.<\/p>\n

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NPK Recovery co-founder Lucy Bell-Reeves with the fertiliser at the nursery. (Pix via NPK Recovery \/ SWNS)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

She said: \u201cEverybody goes to the toilet!<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s about understanding the power of your pee even if you\u2019re not an environmentalist.<\/p>\n

\u201cUrine is a resource that we have in abundance \u2013 so it really is a win win here.<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, for anyone asking it is not a good idea to start weeing in your garden!<\/p>\n

\u201cUrine has great nutrients but it also contains other components that are not safe or free from pathogens and contaminants.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lucy said the reason they use urine and not feces is because it is much harder to recover nutrients from mixed waste.<\/p>\n

She said: \u201cIf you have fecal contamination, it is more likely to have pathogens that are more challenging to remove.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo the exciting thing is that more festivals are using urine diverting toilets such as Peequals \u2013 where the urine is already separated which is great.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt means you can recover the maximum amount of nutrients possible which is the best solution.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the urine is mixed in with other waste, or even shower water, it\u2019s much harder to recover nutrients and do anything with it.\u201d<\/p>\n

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NPK Recovery and Stump up for Trees at the Welsh nursery. (Pix via NPK Recovery \/ SWNS)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
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The Stump up for Trees nursery in Bannau Brycheiniog. (Pix via NPK Recovery \/ SWNS)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

The team hope to bridge a gap between creating sustainable and safe fertiliser that is affordable and easy to source \u2013 particularly at a time when the war in Iran has put pressure on the availability and price of imported synthetic fertiliser.<\/p>\n

Lucy said they want to create \u201cfertiliser security\u201d for farmers and growers in the UK.<\/p>\n

NPK Recovery\u2019s plans to grow a forest are well underway \u2013 and this will be this will be the first time their fertiliser has been used on trees.<\/p>\n

The company has partnered with Welsh charity Stump up for Trees and its tree nursery on the outskirts of Abergavenny.<\/p>\n

Lucy said: \u201cWe wanted to explore where else our sustainable fertiliser could make an impact and the government has set high tree planting targets.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo we can\u2019t wait to give these trees a good fighting start and lead a UK first in using nutrients from urine to grow trees.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lucy added the team are interested to hear from anybody who wants to \u201cmanage a more sustainable way to recycle their waste\u201d.<\/p>\n