An impressive video of an Australian man who built his own sewage system for his house using re-purposed materials to save money.

The footage, filmed in New South Wales in February, shows Jacob Strickling, who is a science teacher and famous YouTuber, talking viewers through his construction, which is a lot cheaper than a conventional sewage system.

It's also fully functional and safe as, according to Jacob, "the system has been given approval by the local authority and has been successfully treating sewage for the past 12 years without problem."

A fascinating and motivating video of the ultimate life hack! How to treat your own sewage and make clean water suitable for the garden.

When Jacob Strickling completed building his house in 2002, he found that he could not afford the US$12,000 for a commercial Aerated Waste Water Treatment System (AWTS Sewage System for Rural Areas).

Being quite innovative (and desperate!), he designed and built an AWTS for a fraction of the cost (US$1200) from repurposed and recycled materials.

The system is able to treat 1,000 litres of sewage a day (the equivalent produced by 6 adults per day). The system has been in operation for the past 12 years without any problems.

The system is based on 7 Intermediate Bulk Containers (IBC's). Countries import and transport chemicals such as detergents in these 1,000 litre plastic containers, once emptied, the IBC's become a waste product. The cleaned IBC's are readily available and can be purchased for US$70 each.

The raw sewage from the home flows into Tank 1. Solids settle, fats and oils rise. Waste liquid then flows into tank 2.
Tank 2 - Anaerobic bacteria commence the sewage break down.
Tank 3 - Anaerobic bacteria continue the sewage break down.
Tank 4 - Air is blown into the tank, aerobic bacteria commence breaking down other aspects of the sewage.
Tank 5 - Air is blown into tank, aerobic bacteria continue their work.
Tank 6 - Air is blown into tank aerobic bacteria finalise their work.
Tank 7 - Settling tank and chlorination. Treated water then flows to underground watering systems to keep lawn and garden well watered.

The system has been given approval by the local authority and has been successfully treating sewage for the past 12 years without problem (1 air pump has been replaced).

Jacob is a Science Co-ordinator in Sydney Australia and operates a popular and growing youtube channel 'Make Science Fun' which he uses to motivate and inspire students around the world with Science.
He rose to fame when he made a device to talk to whales and almost had his boat sunk and is now becoming well known for souping up or turbo-ing up his children's toys