South African Startup Turns Urine Into Sustainable Fertilizer

What if the answer to both water scarcity and food security was sitting in every bathroom on Earth?

That's exactly what PeeCycling is proving with technology that converts human urine into safe, nutrient-rich fertilizer. The University of Cape Town spinoff just earned a spot as a finalist for the Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation, the continent's top honor for groundbreaking engineering.

Professor Dyllon Randall, who co-founded PeeCycling in December 2023, has been researching urine treatment since 2017. What started as doctoral research has evolved into a company that could revolutionize how the world thinks about waste.

The technology works like a desalination system, but instead of turning seawater into drinking water, it concentrates urine into fertilizer while removing harmful compounds. Unlike traditional methods that require massive amounts of energy to boil or freeze liquids, PeeCycling uses reverse osmosis, a proven technology with parts available worldwide.

This isn't just about recycling waste. It's about reimagining entire buildings as nutrient recovery centers that could help cities break free from water-heavy sewer systems.

Randall's vision is ambitious but grounded in years of careful work. Getting here required systematically addressing every challenge, from waterless collection to chemical treatment to scaling up production. Strategic partnerships have helped translate technical breakthroughs into real-world solutions.

The company recently hired its first employee, Anna Reid, a UCT master's student serving as chief technical officer. She's responsible for driving the commercial scale-up, creating a direct bridge between academic research and business application.

The Ripple Effect

PeeCycling represents a complete rethinking of the circular economy. Instead of viewing human waste as something to dispose of, the company treats it as a resource that can nourish crops while conserving precious water supplies.

The global fertilizer industry relies heavily on energy-intensive processes and finite resources. By tapping into an unlimited supply that every human produces daily, PeeCycling offers a sustainable alternative that addresses both agricultural and sanitation challenges simultaneously.

For developing regions where water scarcity and food security are pressing concerns, this technology could be transformative. The use of globally available reverse osmosis components means the system can be deployed and serviced anywhere in the world without relying on specialized equipment.

Professor Randall sees this recognition as validation of UCT's research direction. His co-founder, Dr. Caitlin Courtney, developed the project's foundation during her doctoral studies as his first PhD student. Watching it grow from academic research to commercial recognition on a global stage demonstrates how university innovation can create real-world impact.

The Future Water Institute at UCT is proving that treating buildings as water and nutrient recovery hubs creates a resilient system where nothing is wasted and everything is reused. In a world facing both climate challenges and growing populations, that kind of thinking isn't just innovative, it's essential.