A novel use for Mozart...

Mozart has been credited with everything from increasing the intelligence of unborn babies to boosting the milk yield of cows but never until now improving the efficiency of bacteria at sewage plant...

According to the Guardian a German plant is doing just this. Anton Stucki, chief operator of the sewage centre in Treuenbrietzen, south-west of Berlin, believes the chords and cadences of the compositions speed up the way the organisms work and lead to a quicker breakdown of biomass.
"We think the secret is in the vibrations of the music, which penetrate everything – including the water, the sewage and the cells. It creates a certain resonance that stimulates the microbes and helps them to work better. We're still in the test phase, but I've already noticed that the sewage breakdown is more efficient," he said.

He has developed a sound system that projects Mozart operas in several directions at once, recreating a spread of sound similar to that of a concert hall. And he compares the process to that of an orchestra. "Just as in an orchestra where everything has to be in harmony, so it is here. But of course you need the right frequencies and the right music, and Mozart hits the spot."

So far Stucki's preferred composition is The Magic Flute. "But we're keen to try others as well, and to see what effect they have," he said. "I'm convinced we can influence the nitrate contents with this method."

The method was first developed at a smaller sewage treatment plant in Austria whose owners said it helped reduce the cost of waste treatment. The plant expects savings of as much as €1,000 a month. It has welcomed requests from any scientists who wish to follow the process.

Well... err.... If bacteria like Mozart who am I to argue....

There’s gold in them thar shite

According to Reuters a sewage treatment facility in central Japan has proved absolutely that where there’s muck, there;’s brass... or gold. The facility has recorded a higher gold yield from sludge than can be found at some mines. An official in Nagano prefecture, northwest of Tokyo, said the high percentage of gold found at the Suwa facility was probably due to the large number of precision equipment manufacturers in the vicinity.. The facility recently recorded finding 1,890 grammes of gold per tonne of ash from incinerated sludge.

That is a far higher gold content than Japan's Hishikari Mine, one of the world's top gold mines, which obtains 20-40 grams of the precious metal per tonne of ore.
The prefecture expects to earn about 15 million yen (about £167k) for the current fiscal year from the gold it has retrieved from the ashes of incinerated sludge.

"How much we actually receive will depend on gold prices at the time," the official said.

Hmm I wish I could think of something remotely witty to end this post. Hi ho!