What happens when you flush the loo?

This is the question that the Year 5 and 6 Science club will find out when they visit the Waste Water Treatment Plant in Seaview.

In preparation for this visit the group discussed the types of waste water we have in our homes. They discovered that waste water comes from many places and has other things in it as well as water.

• Toilet - water, biowaste, toilet paper, tissues, cleaning products
  
• Shower/Bath - water, soap, body oils, dirt, hair
  
• Sink - water, food scraps, detergent
  
• Washing machine - water, dirt, small bits of fabric, washing powder
  
• Dishwasher - detergent, food scraps, dirt, oil

On Friday we will find out how waste water is cleaned before going back into the sea.

Toilet Paper Investigation
Do all toilet papers break down in the same way? Everyone brought in a different type of toilet paper. We put the same amount of toilet paper and water in a jar and then stirred it up. The time it took for the paper to break down into small pieces was recorded.
After 2 minutes of stirring all the toilet papers had broken down into mush.
So our second test was for 1 minute. After 1 minute of stirring some of the toilet papers were still in a big chunk.

We found out that some toilet papers break down faster than others and so may be better to use as they wont clog drains.

We tried using a tissue and this did not break down at all. It stayed as a big lump. So beware when you flush a tissue down the toilet!!!