It isn’t very often that watching TV moves me to write about sewage but last night (18.3.21) there was a surprisingly riveting programme called
‘The Secret Science of Sewage”
It centred around the sewage works at a Minworth sewage plant near Sutton Coldfield Here Severn Trent has invested £60 million in a thermal hydrolysis to generate clean energy. Changing the way they treat sewage waste to generate green power.
How any times have we driven past that sewage works on the Wolverhampton road and wondered …..
SO…Here is a few of the interesting facts about sewage…and not necessarily in the right order.
What about a composting toilet . No water just add wood shavings or sawdust. The actual composting toilet did look a bit like a shed in the field. Well..there were two of them, side by side, so when one was filled up you had to move to the other one and leave the filled one a couple of years then bingo – what you have is compost. Rich in nitrogen and phosphorous and excellent for the soil or perhaps I should term it dirt.
The problem is that legislation controls what can and cannot put in the ground. In areas like the West Midlands with industrial waste that can include heavy metals putting it on the soil can be limited. All over the world soil is depreciating due to agriculture – deforestation etc adding fertilisers is a bit like spicing the soil up rather than feeding it .
The mobile phone powered by pee was a fascinating idea and using live bacteria in urine to generate electricity. S*** could be a never-ending” fuel source”. Other uses for the stuff found in our sewage was mooted: powering cars, killing off deadly superbugs.
A woman scientist termed a ‘sludge scientist ‘was working on health benefits . Apparently our s*** develops ( is that the right word?). ‘Phages” . A newly discovered phage can eat away at bacteria and kill E Coli and Klebsella This biological entity is a potential lifesaver and has been used in London hospitals in triaLS to good effect
But clinical trials take 10-15 years to set up so don’t get too constipated about that one . Or hold your breath And wash your hands
