PISS OFF – Michigan, Michigan State Researchers Ask Football Fans to Donate Urine for Fertilizer Project

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Fans attending Saturday’s rivalry game between the University of Michigan and Michigan State University are being offered an unusual way to support scientific research: donating urine during game day festivities.

Researchers from both universities are hosting an event called“The Piss Off,” a stadium-scale experiment designed to collect urine from tailgaters and football fans for use in a nutrient-recycling project known as “peecycling.” The collection effort is being coordinated by Michigan’s Nutrient-Energy-Water Cycles Group and is intended to demonstrate how nutrients typically flushed away in wastewater can be recovered and reused.

Two urine collection stations have been established at the Ann Arbor Golf & Outing Club, located across from Gates 2 and 4 of Michigan Stadium. Organizers say fans can stop by throughout the day to make a donation before heading into the game.

According to organizers, the collected urine will be pasteurized and processed through a patented concentration system. Valuable nutrients including nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium will then be extracted and converted into fertilizer products. Those fertilizers will be used at sites including the Matthaei Botanical Gardens, Nichols Arboretum, and W.K. Kellogg Biological Station.

Researchers say the project serves both a scientific and educational purpose. In addition to gathering material for fertilizer production, organizers hope to raise awareness about alternative approaches to wastewater management and nutrient recovery. According to project supporters, nutrients naturally present in human urine can help support plant growth and reduce reliance on conventional fertilizer sources.

The event also includes a competitive element between the rival fan bases. Separate collection stations have been designated for fans of each school, with organizers tracking which side contributes the greatest volume throughout the day. Bragging rights, rather than points on the scoreboard, will determine the winner of the off-field contest.

Organizers describe the initiative as the first stadium-scale peecycling pilot project in the United States. The effort builds on existing research programs that explore how communities can recover nutrients from wastewater streams and convert them into useful agricultural and horticultural products.

While the sight of football fans being encouraged to donate urine may sound more like a college prank than a scientific study, university researchers say the project addresses a serious environmental question: whether resources traditionally treated as waste can instead be captured and reused. On Saturday in Ann Arbor, thousands of tailgaters will have an opportunity to help test that idea one donation at a time