Scientists estimate that $2.56 million worth of gold is found in Swiss sewers every year

Scientists find $2.56 million worth of gold in Swiss wastewater. Photo / 123RF

Flushing money down the drain might be something the Swiss take a little too seriously.

Scientists at the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology recently estimate around 43 kilograms of gold passes through the country's wastewater annually.

To put this amount into perspective, Swiss waste treatment plants contain $A2.31m (NZD $2.56m) of gold every year, reports News.com.au.

In one year, 95 pounds of gold was found in Swiss waste treatment plants. Prompting the entire sewage department to ask for a raise.

— Charles Lake (@mesealake) October 11, 2017

According to a report published this week, it was suggested treatment plants could offer a lucrative return for people willing to sift through human waste.

"At certain sites in Ticino, concentrations of gold in sewage sludge are sufficiently high for recovery to be potentially worthwhile. This can be attributed to the presence of several gold refineries in the region," the report reads.

While this might seem absurd, it shouldn't come as too much of a surprise given about 70 per cent of the world's gold passes through Swiss refineries.

They just discovered gold in Switzerland's sewer water while some struggle to find clean drinking water. Ironic yet befuddling.

— Clive Bunka (@BrianKeithCouto) October 11, 2017

The study, involving 64 water treatment plants, also discovered around 3,000 kilograms of silver, which would be valued at around $A1.54 m (NZD $1.7m)

Concentrations of trace elements often used in the technology and medical sectors such as tantalum and germanium were also found.