Bio-bricks are created through a natural process called microbial carbonate precipitation. (Credit: Robyn Walker / University of Capetwon)
According to an article on nbcnews.com, researchers in South Africa are taking recycling to the extreme. In what they're calling a first, they’ve found a way to make building bricks out of human urine.
The so-called bio-bricks might sound icky, but the University of Cape Town researchers say they offer crucial advantages over the conventional clay bricks that have long been a mainstay of the construction industry.
In addition to making use of urine that otherwise would end up in waste-processing plants, the bio-brick-making process generates nitrogen and phosphorus, which can be used to make fertilizer. And while the baking process used to make clay bricks releases large quantities of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide, bio-bricks are made at room temperature.
