This episode was originally published in May 2023. In light of all the recent urine diversion talk on the Upper Cape, we thought we'd bring this episode back. New episodes coming soon!

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Housing, water quality, environmental protection and agriculture - all of these are critical to human life, and all of them can be impacted by the simple flush of a toilet. Because municipal wastewater is so tightly intertwined with daily life on Cape Cod, conversations about wastewater management often turn into debates. In the Upper Cape Catch's new series, the Great Flush, we'll be exploring as many sides of this debate as we possible can, and strive to unravel this politically and scientifically tangled issue.

This week, in the first installment of our new series, host and producer Noelle Annonen takes a closer look at urine-diverting technology, and what it could mean for local wastewater management and the world.

Check out Hilda Maingay and Earle Barnhart’s work at the Green Center and archives from the New Alchemy research institute here: 

https://newalchemists.net/

Check out the Guardian’s reporting on potential phosphorus shortages here:

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/mar/12/scientists-warn-of-phosphogeddon-fertiliser-shortages-loom