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Female-founded startups to turn London Marathon wee into wheat fertiliser
In an innovative spin on sustainability, urine from thousands of female runners at the TCS London Marathon will be diverted from sewage and repurposed as fertiliser for crops.
This marks the third consecutive year that PEEQUAL’s women’s urinals, which are nearly three times faster to use than standard portaloos, have helped cut down on loo queues at the marathon.
But 2025 sees a pioneering addition: the urine collected from nine PEEQUAL urinals at the marathon’s start line will be processed by Bristol-based startup NPK Recovery to be converted to fertiliser for wheat crops.
The initiative, a collaboration between two Bristol-based female-founded startups, aims to not only improve sanitation for women at large-scale events but also to reduce the environmental footprint of one of the world’s most talked about races.
Innovative PEEQUAL urinals are returning to London Marathon for the third consecutive year
The fertiliser, rich in nitrogen, a nutrient wheat thrives on, will be tested in the field to evaluate its effectiveness.
If used solely for growing, the 1,000 litres of urine collected this year could help produce enough wheat for around 195 loaves of bread, said NPK Recovery.
According to NPK Recovery, if all the urine from the 53,700 finishers at last year’s marathon had been collected and recycled, it could have yielded enough wheat to bake 3,142 loaves.
“We love coming to the TCS London Marathon because we firmly believe that women shouldn’t have to choose between starting their race on time or waiting to go to the loo,” said Amber Probyn, co-founder of PEEQUAL
Susan Farrell, running this year’s marathon in support of the NSPCC, said: “It’s brilliant to think that the nervous wees of thousands of women are helping a good cause.
“I used PEEQUAL’s novel urinals at Glastonbury – their design means they don’t sacrifice privacy and it honestly felt like we were cheating by skipping the queues. I used to watch guys breeze through and think, ‘Why can’t we have that?!’ Now we do, and I really hope we get to see them at more events.”
Amber Probyn, co-founder of award-winning PEEQUAL, said: “We love coming to the TCS London Marathon because we firmly believe that women shouldn’t have to choose between starting their race on time or waiting to go to the loo.
“We’re really proud that 1,000 litres of wee won’t go to sewage, and will instead be recycled into something amazing.”
NPK Recovery, which uses bacteria to extract nutrients from urine and transform it into a liquid fertiliser, sees this as just the beginning.
“It’s brilliant to think that the nervous wees of thousands of women are helping a good cause,” said Susan Farrell who is running this year’s London Marathon in support of the NSPCC
“Urine doesn’t have to be a waste product and we’re excited to be playing a small part in helping support the sustainability commitments of the iconic TCS London Marathon,” said founder Hannah Vandenbergh.
“Ultimately, we want to help event organisers all over recycle their urine and reduce their carbon footprints.”
Kate Chapman, head of sustainability at London Marathon Events, said: “Part of our environmental strategy is to try and find an ‘onward use’ for all waste generated at our events – composting, reusing, upcycling and much more besides.
“We are delighted that the urine from the PEEQUAL urinals can be used for something so positive rather than going to waste.”
The PEEQUAL urinals are nearly three times faster to use than standard portaloos
PEEQUAL, founded by University of Bristol alumni Amber Probyn and Hazel McShane, was born out of their frustration with long queues for the ladies’ toilets at festivals, inspiring them to design the hands-free Peequal. In 2021, they won the University of Bristol’s New Enterprise Competition, securing £15,000 to bring their idea to life.
All photos: Peequal
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