The project, which has enlisted well over 100 volunteers to donate their urine, aims to determine if "essential plant nutrients" found in urine, such as nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, will work as a kind of all-natural fertilizer. The Rich Earth Institute (REI) in Battleboro, Vt., is investigating whether human urine can replace chemical fertilizers. Poop Versus Pee as a Fertilizer “Urine Separation — Closing the Nutrient Cycle,” the exhaustive Swedish study of using urine as a fertilizer, compares the pros and cons of using solid human waste and liquid human waste to help grow crops. “We need to start moving toward the application of urine in combination with compost,” Shrestha said in an interview with <a ” href=”http://www.scidev.net/en/south-asia/news/crop-thrives-on-urine-compost-mix.html” target=”_blank”>SciDev.Net. Modern Farmer explains that, "Across the Atlantic, studies have long established urine as a powerful fertilizer." Via Modern Farmer: 
 
 A study conducted by the Stockholm Water Company in the late 1990s diverted urine from four housing projects to a grain farmer outside the city. The scientists concluded not only that urine could replace quick-acting mineral fertilizers, but also calculated that one Northern European adult pees enough plant nutrients to grow 50 to 100 percent of the food requirement for another person. Other successful trials have taken place in China and Mexico, though none as detailed as the Swedish one. The scientists say the pee was so effective because of several factors working together. The EPA has selected Rich Earth for funding to conduct a study of traces of drugs in urine with the help of the University of Michigan and SUNY Buffalo. A much more realistic option is urine-diverting toilets, which again the Swedes, masters of pee, have reliably engineered. Field permit sign (Rich Earth Institute) 
 
 Waste not, want not. But does it work? Most inquires come from people worried they are literally pissing away a valuable fertilizer, all with the same question: How can I help?
– Nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium are among plants' key needs—and your urine contains all of them. That's why Vermont's Rich Earth Institute is studying the use of human urine as fertilizer, Modern Farmer reports. There's already plenty of evidence that it works. Yahoo cites one study, earlier reported by National Geographic, in which a researcher found that a blend of urine and compost resulted in taller sweet pepper plants with more peppers. A Swedish study, meanwhile, sent urine from housing projects to a farm. Researchers found that one adult's pee provides enough plant nutrients for 50% to 100% of another person's diet, Modern Farmer notes. A farmer working with the Rich Earth Institute also found urine to be highly effective in a 2012 field test, results that helped the group get a $10,000 USDA grant. Last year, the institute collected some 3,000 gallons of pee from 170 people. "When people realize that they produce something every day that can be helpful to the environment and the earth, it’s a very wonderful feeling," says its administrative director. But hurdles remain: For instance, human urine can contain remnants of medications.