This Scientist Wants You To Stop Flushing Your Toilet. Here’s Why.
26th September 2026
Every time you go to the toilet, you could be flushing away a valuable resource – your urine.
Today, we see urine as a waste product – but that wasn’t always the case. Historically, it was a highly valued commodity, used to dye cloth, tan leather and make gunpowder. Roman writer Pliny the Elder even recommended people use it to whiten their teeth (though don’t try that one at home).
But now, we see our pee as an unseemly bodily fluid that should be disposed of with as little fuss as possible. It’s hidden away from view in our sewer system, until it reaches a water treatment plant where it can be removed.
Such treatment takes a lot of energy though. As we become more and more aware of the impact our waste has on the environment, researchers are looking for ways we can turn our pee into something more useful.
One such ‘pee-cycling’ advocate is Prof Kai Udert from the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology. Udert has spent his career looking into ways we can improve our sanitation systems and trying to break down the taboos about urine.
We spoke to him about why he is so passionate about pee.
Whatever would we do without ‘scientists’?
(Wouldn’t that look great on a tombstone: “Passionate About Pee”.