Japan turns to fertilizer made from human feces as prices rise

He “shimogoe”which literally means “compost from a person’s butt” it is cheap, ecological and comes from a centuries-old tradition of Japan which gains popularity rising prices of the fertilizers by war in Ukraine.

The use of human excrement to fertilize crops was common in the archipelago, as in other countries. But the development of sewage networks, purification systems and chemical fertilizers made it fall into disuse.

However, about ten years ago, Japanese water treatment plants began to consider returning to this practice due to the problem of disposing of sewage sludge, a process that is costly and can be harmful to the environment.

With the Russian invasion of the Ukraine and the rising cost of chemical fertilizers, the idea gained popularity.

In the small town of Tome (northeast), a company that has been producing this fertilizer since 2010 recorded a 160% increase in sales in the fiscal year ending in March, and even ran out of stock.

“Our fertilizer is popular because it is cheap and helps farmers reduce skyrocketing costs”explains the vice president of the company, Toshiaki Kato. “It is also good for the environment”stands out.

Composed of a combination of treated waste sludge from septic tanks and human feces from sanitary pits, the compost sells for 160 yen (US$1.1) per 15 kilograms, ten times less than those made from organic products. imported.

Sales of this type of fertilizer have also doubled or even tripled, according to officials in the Saga area of ​​southwestern Japan, where dozens of other Japanese municipalities have started using it.

He “shimogoe” it was essential in the Edo period (1603-1867), explained Arata Kobayashi, author of scientific articles on the subject.

At the beginning of the 18th century, it is estimated that Tokyo, which had a million inhabitants, produced 500,000 tons of this fertilizer per year.

Odor complaints

The Japanese government encourages this new boom in “shimogoe”especially due to concerns about food security since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

In December, the Ministry of Agriculture set a goal of doubling the use of animal and human manure by 2030, so that it accounts for 40% of the fertilizers used in Japan.

At a treatment plant in Miura, south of Tokyo, water is removed from trucked-in human waste before processing the rest in large tanks where the material is fermented by bacteria to decrease odor and increase agricultural benefits, producing 500 tons of fertilizer every year.

“All harmful materials, such as heavy metals, are removed from the treated sewage sludge before it reaches here”explains director Kenichi Ryose.

At a time when worldwide concern is growing about the contamination of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), known as “eternal chemicals”in Japan there are no reports of this problem.

Despite treatment to absorb odors, stench is a problem, acknowledged Nobuyoshi Fujiwara, 41, a manager of an agricultural plantation in a neighboring town.

started using the “shimogoe” last year, “to reduce costs and for social benefit” for the recycling of waste.

But “We cannot use it in the fields near the houses, because there are complaints about the smell”, Indian.

Besides “four or five times more fertilizers have to be applied than when using conventional chemical products”he explained, a work overload common to all types of manure that may deter some farmers.

Fujiwara also recognized the problem of the brand image of the product that is written with Chinese characters. “mud” and “dirty”.

“Although we produce healthy food, I imagine that for those who don’t know much about it, the impression that we use a fertilizer made from human excrement is not a good one”indicates.

However, it does not intend to hide its use, and would like to see more publicity. “An official certification system would be useful to promote our products”underline.

Source: AFP