Football club Forest Green Rovers has partnered with a firm whose sustainable technology will convert away fans’ urine into water and fertiliser for its pitch.
The League One side has announced a deal which will see Dutch water treatment firm Nijhuis Saur Industries (NSI) providing restrooms and urine treatment facilities for visiting supporters at its ground The New Lawn for the 2022-2023 season.
NSI will use its “space mission-inspired” closed-loop tech to treat wastewater from the urinals through on-site physical treatment.
The company said its modular units also have the potential for further treatment options of wastewater from the toilets and handwashing facilities to produce compost and flush water.
Ian Stentiford, regional director of NSI UK and Ireland , explained: “The concept behind the system is space-based technology, where three separate wastewater streams – grey, yellow and black from handwashing, urinals and toilets respectively – are converted into flush water, irrigation water, fertiliser, and compost.
“The modules can also be configured to produce biogas and electricity. The result is a system that closes the loop between water treatment and water supply, to provide three of the basic necessities for life: water, food, and good sanitation.”
Henry Staelens, chief executive of Forest Green Rovers, said: “The Away Fan Zone is a major focus for us over the summer as we head towards League One, where we will see a sizeable increase of fans at The New Lawn - we’re very pleased to have Nijhuis on board as part of that."
The Gloucestershire team is widely perceived as the world’s greenest football club. The club is powered entirely by wind and solar energy generated by Ecotricity, the company founded by the team’s owner Dale Vince.
The team, based in Nailsworth, plays on an organic pitch that is cut by a solar powered mower, while it submitted fresh plans earlier this year to build a new 5,000 capacity wooden stadium, as part of a major green tech business park off junction 13 of the M5.
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