Urine from Women’s Toilets at the London Marathon to be Converted into Fertiliser

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25 April 2025 | Updated 01 May 2025

Urine from thousands of women running the 2025 London Marathon will be saved from sewage and turned into fertiliser for wheat.

The team behind the UK’s first portable urinal for women, PEEQUAL, are working with startup NPK Recovery to recycle the urine from nine PEEQUAL urinals positioned at the marathon’s start line. 

NPK Recovery uses bacteria to recover naturally occurring nutrients from the urine such as nitrogen, creating a liquid fertiliser.

Approximately 1,000 litres of urine will be used for field tests to improve the fertiliser and evaluate its performance on wheat. If used purely for growing, 1,000 litres of urine could grow wheat for around 195 loaves of bread. 

Amber Probyn, Co-Founder of  PEEQUAL, said: “We love coming to the TCS London Marathon because we firmly believe that women shouldn’t have to choose between starting their race on-time or waiting to go to the loo. 

“We’re really proud that 1,000 litres of wee won’t go to sewage, and will instead be recycled into something amazing!”

Kate Chapman, Head of Sustainability at London Marathon Events added: “Part of our environmental strategy is to try and find an ‘onward use’ for all waste that is generated at our events, for instance composting, reusing, upcycling and much more besides.

“We are delighted that the urine from the PEEQUAL urinals can be used for something so positive rather than going to waste.” 

Picture: a photograph showing PEEQUAL urinals being delivered. Image Credit: Peequal 

Article written by Ella Tansley | Published 25 April 2025

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