School for Environment and Sustainability, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor 48109-1382, Michigan, United States.
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor 48109-1382, Michigan, United States.
Environ Sci Technol. 2020 Apr 21;54(8):5297-5305. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.0c00576. Epub 2020 Mar 31.
Nitrogen and phosphorus are essential ingredients in fertilizers used to produce food. Novel methods are emerging for more efficiently sourcing these nutrients, one of which is to recover them from recycled human urine; once recovered, N and P can be redirected to fertilizer production. While the technology for creating human urine-derived fertilizer (HUDF) exists, implementing it at scale will depend on public acceptance. Thus, this study examined U.S. consumers' acceptance of HUDF across a range of applications and, in comparison, to other fertilizer types. Data were collected from a representative national sample, and analyses of variance with comparisons were conducted to compare across fertilizer applications and types. A hierarchical regression was conducted to assess if demographics, psychological variables, and value orientations predict HUDF acceptance. Results suggest that HUDF and biosolid-based fertilizers are equally preferred and more strongly preferred than synthetic fertilizers. HUDF is not preferred as strongly as organic fertilizers. HUDF was deemed most acceptable when used on nonedible plants and least acceptable when used on crops for human consumption. Regression analysis revealed that judgments about risks and benefits were the strongest predictors of acceptance of UDF use. These results are promising for sanitation practitioners and regulators among others.
氮和磷是用于生产食品的肥料中必不可少的成分。目前正在出现新的方法来更有效地获取这些营养物质，其中一种方法是从回收的人类尿液中回收这些营养物质；一旦回收，氮和磷就可以重新用于肥料生产。虽然制造人类尿液衍生肥料（HUDF）的技术已经存在，但要大规模实施该技术将取决于公众的接受程度。因此，本研究考察了美国消费者对 HUDF 在一系列应用中的接受程度，并将其与其他肥料类型进行了比较。数据是从一个具有代表性的全国样本中收集的，进行方差分析和比较，以比较不同肥料应用和类型。进行了层次回归分析，以评估人口统计学、心理变量和价值取向是否可以预测 HUDF 的接受程度。结果表明，HUDF 和基于生物固体的肥料与合成肥料同样受欢迎，并且更受欢迎。HUDF 不如有机肥料受欢迎。当 HUDF 用于非食用植物时，其接受程度最高，而当用于人类食用的作物时，其接受程度最低。回归分析表明，对风险和收益的判断是影响 UDF 使用接受程度的最强预测因素。这些结果对卫生从业人员和监管机构等其他人员来说是有希望的。
