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Recirculation of human-derived nutrients from cities to agriculture across six continents

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  • John T. Trimmer

    (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)

  • Jeremy S. Guest

    (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)

Abstract

Recovering human-derived nutrients can advance circular economies by linking increasingly urban global populations with local cropland, offsetting unsustainable fertilizer use and improving access in low-income countries. For 56 of the world’s largest cities, we analyse co-location of urban nutrients with surrounding agricultural needs (that is, the degree to which recoverable nutrients spatially align with crop demands), defining paths forward to close urban nutrient cycles. Estimated nutrient transport distances, which may constrain what recovery strategies are locally feasible, span two orders of magnitude and are often shorter among European, African and Asian cities due to high local cropland density. We further examine how growing nutrient-intensive crops and recovering highly concentrated nutrient products could impact distance and energy requirements. Broadly, locations with high cropland density, nutrient-intensive crops and compact urban area may find agricultural nutrient reuse particularly impactful and achievable, creating opportunities to boost productivity by coupling urban water and regional agriculture systems.

Suggested Citation

  • John T. Trimmer & Jeremy S. Guest, 2018. "Recirculation of human-derived nutrients from cities to agriculture across six continents," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 1(8), pages 427-435, August.
  • Handle: RePEc:nat:natsus:v:1:y:2018:i:8:d:10.1038_s41893-018-0118-9
    DOI: 10.1038/s41893-018-0118-9
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    Cited by:

    1. Danilo Arcentales-Bastidas & Carla Silva & Angel D. Ramirez, 2022. "The Environmental Profile of Ethanol Derived from Sugarcane in Ecuador: A Life Cycle Assessment Including the Effect of Cogeneration of Electricity in a Sugar Industrial Complex," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-24, July.
    2. Berta Moya & Ruben Sakrabani & Alison Parker, 2019. "Realizing the Circular Economy for Sanitation: Assessing Enabling Conditions and Barriers to the Commercialization of Human Excreta Derived Fertilizer in Haiti and Kenya," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-15, June.
    3. Anastasia Papangelou & Edgar Battand Towa Kouokam & Wouter Achten & Erik Mathijs, 2021. "A resource-based phosphorus footprint for urban diets," ULB Institutional Repository 2013/332187, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    4. Dániel Fróna & János Szenderák & Mónika Harangi-Rákos, 2019. "The Challenge of Feeding the World," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(20), pages 1-18, October.
    5. Ariane Krause & Franziska Häfner & Florian Augustin & Kai M. Udert, 2021. "Qualitative Risk Analysis for Contents of Dry Toilets Used to Produce Novel Recycling Fertilizers," Circular Economy and Sustainability, Springer, vol. 1(3), pages 1107-1146, November.
    6. Julian Junghanns & Thomas Beery, 2020. "Ecological Sanitation and Sustainable Nutrient Recovery Education: Considering the Three Fixes for Environmental Problem-Solving," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-18, April.
    7. FRÓNA Dániel, 2020. "Factors Affecting Food Security," Annals of Faculty of Economics, University of Oradea, Faculty of Economics, vol. 1(1), pages 39-49, July.
    8. Biao Li & Yunting Feng & Xiqiang Xia & Mengjie Feng, 2021. "Evaluation of China’s Circular Agriculture Performance and Analysis of the Driving Factors," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-16, February.
    9. Lisa Harseim & Benjamin Sprecher & Cathrin Zengerling, 2021. "Phosphorus Governance within Planetary Boundaries: The Potential of Strategic Local Resource Planning in The Hague and Delfland, The Netherlands," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-21, September.
    10. Jean Pierre Enriquez, 2020. "Food Self-Sufficiency - Opportunities and Challenges for the Current Food System," Biomedical Journal of Scientific & Technical Research, Biomedical Research Network+, LLC, vol. 31(2), pages 23984-23989, October.
    11. Daniel Puente-Rodríguez & Harmen van Laar & Maayke Veraart, 2022. "A Circularity Evaluation of New Feed Categories in The Netherlands—Squaring the Circle: A Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-27, February.

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