Festivalgoers' Urine to Fertilize Trees in Brecon Beacons Restoration Scheme
Waste from 700 Boomtown festival attendees has been transformed into 540 liters of fertilizer for a native tree project in Wales. Scientists are aiming to grow 4,500 trees at Bannau Brycheiniog, also known as the Brecon Beacons National Park, using this innovative fertilizing method.
Innovative Waste Recovery Process
The Bristol-based startup NPK Recovery connected its specialized unit to a block of toilets used by 700 revellers at the Boomtown festival in Hampshire during July last year. During the 2025 event, the collected urine was processed into 540 liters of fertilizer product that will now nourish native tree species including beech trees on the edge of the Welsh national park.
NPK Recovery employs bacteria to recover nitrogen and other naturally occurring nutrients from urine, creating an odor-free liquid fertilizer. The company operates a mobile laboratory that enables urine processing directly at events, eliminating transportation needs for the raw material.
Three-Year Project Launch
On Thursday morning, project organizers planted a Scots pine seed at the site to officially launch the three-year initiative, which has received financial backing through a grant from the Forestry Commission. Additional urine from other sources will supplement the festival-collected material throughout the project duration.
Lucy Bell-Reeves, co-founder of NPK Recovery, emphasized that trials have demonstrated their fertilizer performs as effectively as commonly used alternatives. "This project represents the first application of our fertilizer specifically for tree cultivation," she noted.
Circular Environmental Solution
"Utilizing a waste product to cultivate trees embodies a circular solution that can revitalize our struggling native species," Bell-Reeves explained. "We must cease flushing valuable crop and tree-growing nutrients down toilets and instead harness them to enhance our fertilizer security. After all, humanity isn't likely to exhaust our urine supply anytime soon."
The entrepreneur expressed particular enthusiasm about the project's long-term impact: "I adore the concept that by this three-year project's conclusion, festival attendees will have contributed to establishing a fledgling Welsh forest that could flourish for centuries."
Previous Success and Partnership
In April last year, NPK Recovery collected 1,000 liters of urine from women's urinals at the London Marathon, which was similarly processed into fertilizer. For the Welsh initiative, the company has partnered with the charity Stump Up For Trees, co-founded by author and cyclist Rob Penn.
Over the past five years, Stump Up For Trees has planted more than 500,000 trees in the region—halfway toward their ambitious target of one million trees—to facilitate landscape restoration. Penn expressed excitement about the collaboration: "We're thrilled to participate in this groundbreaking project with significant implications for sustainable forestry's future. As a small charity, collaboration proves essential, and we're delighted to work with NPK Recovery, who bring innovation to an industry sector desperately needing it."
The initiative represents a creative approach to waste management, environmental restoration, and sustainable agriculture, demonstrating how human byproducts can contribute positively to ecosystem regeneration.
