Aurora Cannabis Inc., based in Vancouver, B.C. has signed a non-binding agreement to make a strategic investment in Vancouver-based Micron Waste Technologies Inc., according to CTV News Canada.
Aurora Cannabis, which started out in 2006, along with its subsidiaries, produces and distributes medical marijuana products in Canada. The company’s products consist of dried cannabis and cannabis oil.
“The investment in and collaboration with Micron reflect our commitment to innovation in the cannabis sector, aimed in this case at achieving improved operational economics, as well as a superior, ‘greener’ approach to organic waste management,” said Terry Booth, CEO of Aurora.
Organic waste digestion technology
Micron Waste Technologies also began operations in 2006 with a patent-pending closed-loop waste technology system that converts food and other organic waste on-site into clean water using specifically blended microorganisms and enzymes, depending on the type of organic waste being digested.
Many current organic waste digesters in the marketplace have a waste digestion efficiency of 60 – 65 percent. This means 35 – 40 percent of food waste remains undigested and is discharged into grey-water. The effluent systems of these organic waste systems do not meet municipal discharge standards and require costly further treatment.
In November 2016, Micron’s system underwent testing with T&T Supermarkets Inc. the largest chain of specialist Asian supermarkets in Canada. Previously, the supermarket relied on daily disposal to a landfill, a very costly solution, in part due to the high frequency of service required and associated landfill costs.
On-site cannabis waste digesters
In early December, Micron announced it was working on developing digester solutions to treat the organic waste from medical cannabis cultivation on-site and in an environmentally friendly and cost-efficient manner.
Micron is testing a new type of nanocrystal that would be used in its proprietary 4-cycle filtration process. The nanocrystals are expected to further breakdown medical cannabis organic waste, including leaves, stalks, and twigs so that it can be turned into “gray water” and then later into clean water.
The need for proper waste disposal with cannabis is important due to the necessary regulatory schemes put in place by governing bodies to ensure environmental and safety issues are being addressed. This is one reason Aurora Cannabis Inc. has decided to invest in the breakthrough technology.
“This is a valuable opportunity to bring together research and development efforts from both Micron Waste and our development partners to deliver an urgently needed organic waste treatment system for the medical cannabis cultivation industry that meets Health Canada Cannabis Waste disposal requirements,” said Dr. Bharat Bhushan, Chief Technology Officer of Micron Waste.
