by Emanuele Isonio<\/p>\n
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The answer to the demand for natural, low-cost fertilizers<\/strong> could lie in our toilets, according to a German research<\/a> published in the journal Frontiers in Environmental Science. Human excreta – when properly treated – represent an excellent and safe resource for crops, the authors say, thanks to the abundance of essential elements such as nitrogen<\/strong> and potassium<\/strong>, boron, zinc, phosphorus, calcium and magnesium, which are capable of feeding the soil.<\/p>\n Franziska H\u00e4fner<\/strong>, a young researcher at the University of Hohenheim, Germany and co-author of the research, is convinced of this. Products derived by recycling our “waste,” she explains in a press release<\/a>, “are viable and safe fertilizers,” which don’t pose “any risk regarding transmission of pathogens or pharmaceuticals.”<\/p>\n