Cape Town’s urine-to-fertiliser system reaches Africa engineering final

Pee-Cycling is turning a waste stream into fertiliser and reusable water at Cape Town Stadium. Its co-founder is now among four finalists for the 2026 Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation.

How the system works

Pee-Cycling collects urine through purpose-built waterless urinals and no-mix toilets, stabilises it so nitrogen is not lost to the air, then uses pretreatment and reverse osmosis to split the stream. One product is concentrated, nursery-grade liquid fertiliser. The other is water that can be used again. The Royal Academy of Engineering says the membrane process uses less energy than an evaporation-based approach.

South African chemical engineer Dyllon Randall co-founded Pee-Cycling to recover nutrients while reducing the use of drinking-quality water. According to the Royal Academy of Engineering, a full-scale unit occupies approximately 12 to 15 square metres and can process up to 3,000 litres of urine a day. The Academy reports potable-water savings of about 2,000 litres for every 1,000 litres processed.

From pilot to stadium operation

The Academy says the plant at Cape Town Stadium is operational and that Bidvest Prestige has become Pee-Cycling’s first commercial client, operating and maintaining the system with the City of Cape Town. The project collected 3,600 litres of urine during a South Africa versus New Zealand rugby match and has been included in the city’s stadium tender for three years.

That operating arrangement is a significant part of the story. A treatment system needs ongoing collection, maintenance and a use for its outputs. Working at a busy venue gives the project an opportunity to demonstrate those requirements beyond a pilot installation.

Four projects compete in Johannesburg

Randall is one of four finalists chosen from sixteen entrepreneurs on an eight-month Royal Academy of Engineering programme. The others are Naom Monari of Kenya, whose Renal Roads takes dialysis to rural patients; Dr Alice Muhuhu of Kenya, whose MoyoECG is a portable heart-monitoring platform; and Mamane Kabirou Ousseini of Niger, whose Likita Care is a locally made patient-monitoring system, Niger’s first Africa Prize finalist.

The final is scheduled for 28 October in Johannesburg, hosted by Bryan Habana. The winner will receive £50,000, with £10,000 for each of the other three finalists.

For Pee-Cycling, the finalist selection brings attention to a practical South African project already operating at a public venue. Its longer-term opportunity lies in showing that nutrient recovery and reduced water use can become part of everyday building operations, supported by reliable maintenance and customers for the recovered products.