Sewage Works Ripe With Tomatoes

You'd expect to find tomatoes in a supermarket and it's not uncommon to see them growing in greenhouses across the UK, but you'd probably be more surprised to hear that they're thriving in locations which wouldn't figure at the top of most people's list - namely our sewage works.

Over the course of the summer, hundreds of tomato plants have sprung up at our treatment works across the region, often sprouting in some of the most unlikely of places, including skips full of toilet paper and other rags removed during the treatment process.

And whilst there have been instances in the past of tomatoes cropping up at works in the region, it is thought that the higher-than-usual temperatures over the summer, coupled with regular bouts of rainfall, have played their part in ensuring many of our works can boast a bumper yield this year.

The sight of tomatoes growing at the works stems from the fact that seeds are not digested by the human body and pass through our intestines unscathed. They arrive at sewage works where some are among the waste removed at the first stage of the treatment process before being compressed and stockpiled in skips - and it's in these that many tomato plants have taken root and flourished.

However, most seeds are removed from the waste water as sludge - essentially manure - before being heated, dried and pressed and turned into much-sought-after compost, which is then distributed to farms and local authorities.  Invariably, the compost contains tomato seeds which grow into plants, prompting regular stories from farmers who report rogue tomatoes growing among their crops.

Rumesh Chauhan, who is responsible for the day-to-day running of one of our largest sewage works at Esholt near Bradford, said: "In the past, I've seen the odd tomato plant growing around our sites but, this year, they've been particularly prevalent.

"This could be as a result of the mild weather we've experienced over the last few months or, perhaps more significantly, it could be the result of changing dietary habits with people abandoning the winter stodge to eat more healthy foods - including tomatoes.

"Whatever the reason, it's great to have them growing on the site, though people needn't worry about us supplying any big-name supermarkets any time soon, as the plants either die of natural causes or are invariably destroyed when skips full of waste are removed from our sites."

We're inviting people to come and take a free behind-the-scenes tour of our Esholt sewage works near Bradford between September 17-30, enabling you to see just how the equivalent of 112 Olympic swimming pools full of waste water is treated at the works every day. Click here.

If you'd like the chance to grow your own tomatoes why not enter our competition below for your chance to win a mini greenhouse.

Tell us the answers...?

1. Name one of the most unlikely places you'll see tomato plants sprouting?
2. How many Olympic size swimming pools of waste water is treated at Esholt?
3. Why do tomato plants grow at our treatment works?

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