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Building a More Sustainable Future 

Building a More Sustainable Future 

Josie Rutherford `18 is on a mission to make fertilizer more sustainable, and she's doing so one flush at a time. 

Josie spent her summer recycling urine, or "peecycling" as she calls it. Yep, you read that right; she's turning human urine into fertilizer. 

A chemical engineering major at the University of Dayton, she spent the summer at the Rich Earth Institute in Vermont, as part of the ETHOS program, which she describes as Doctors without Borders but for engineers.  

"The Rich Earth Program was my top choice because I'm interested in sustainability, specifically water pollution," says Rutherford. "When it comes to urine and general waste treatment, it all goes to a waste center where it's treated, and then it goes to whatever watershed you're in. So in Cincinnati, it goes to the Ohio River, and unfortunately, there are so many nutrients in your urine that collect and then feed algae blooms. In addition, the pharmaceuticals in your urine can kill fish. This program at the Rich Earth Institute is a sustainable way to prevent that and clean up the water." 

The institute's flagship program is its urine diversion program, in which urine is recycled, turned into fertilizer, and provided at no extra cost for local farmers as an alternative to commercial and chemical fertilizers. The Urine Nutrient Reclamation Program is the driver for all the other aspects of the institute. 

While at the Rich Earth Institute, Josie was in charge of building and maintaining the vermiponics system - combining human urine with worm nutrients to build the fertilizer.  

"There are only about 10 people at the institute, so it was very much a ‘do what I can on my own’ type of project," says Josie. "So I got work. I didn't have a manual or instructions. I had to build the whole thing from scratch, write the proposal, and plan how much urine we would need, what kind of plants we would grow, and how this could affect urban food systems." 

Though a little intimidating at first, Josie jumped right in.  

"It was good to take ownership of something like that. I had had previous internships at factories and plants, and going from a massive factory with 500 people in it to a small research institute with 10 people was very different. I appreciated that I could take ownership of things and that people believed in me and were confident in me to do those things, especially in building my confidence as an engineer.” 

Not only did Josie tend to her worms (5,000 of them, by the way), but she helped in the garden with deposit centers and took charge wherever she could. 

"I gained so much confidence. Rich Earth reminded me of Country Day with its small community feel and the opportunities to work and grow independently while being supported. I was taking charge and had a lot of freedom, but I also knew I could reach out for help, and everyone was friendly and helpful."