ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Scientists from the University of Michigan and Michigan State plan a Saturday peecycling faceoff at Ann Arbor Golf Club, just across from Michigan Stadium, during rivalry football weekend in Ann Arbor.
A pair of yurts will greet fans and tailgaters. Volunteers intend to point people to collection spots by school colors. Only standing donors are part of this weekend’s setup.
Michigan State sociology associate professor Stephen Gasteyer framed the project as both a raw-material drive for fertilizer and a lesson that urine carries nutrients usually flushed away in treatment plants.
Federal rules bar urine fertilizer on food crops, though lawns and flower beds remain fair game. The contest mirrors work pioneered in Vermont and feeds research by Michigan civil and environmental engineer Nancy Love, whose lab is building toilets that separate urine.
Processed product is slated for campus farm plots at both schools, including Michigan State’s Kellogg site and Michigan’s Matthaei gardens. Campus research-council money awarded to Gasteyer and assistant professor Saleh Amed helps pay for the work.
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