Micron Waste Receives Health Canada Cannabis Research License

Micron Waste Technologies Inc., a developer of waste treatment systems for cannabis and food waste, has received a Health Canada Cannabis Research License to develop its aerobic waste digester technology for the treatment of cannabis waste. The license, effective for five years beginning August 23, will be used to further develop the first waste treatment system that alters and denatures cannabis waste while recovering reusable water.

The company's research and development (R&D) team, led by Chief Technology Officer and Founder Bob Bhushan, will employ the new license to accelerate and expand the cannabis waste and wastewater programs, both through its Cannavore waste processing system and through its developing facility wastewater management program at the Micron Waste Innovation Centre in Delta, B.C.

"The Micron R&D team is focused on the current and future needs of cannabis facilities seeking sustainable waste management, both solid and liquid," said Bhushan in a statement. "Accordingly, the company is developing the most efficient, compliant management of green waste through our Cannavore digester technology. In addition, we are now expanding our wastewater treatment protocol to better assist licensed producers domestically and internationally to reclaim, reuse or compliantly discharge all facility wastewater generated in the cultivation of cannabis."

Micron also will begin profiling and cataloging cannabis cultivars, also known as strains, to identify resin and fiber content. Under the auspices of the company's new research license, in-house characterization test programs will commence to identify optimal microbe and enzyme blends for the highest performance in the Cannavore digestion process. Micron's proprietary live agent blends, based on its patented bioprocess, can then be targeted for rapid and efficient destruction, digestion and denaturing of biomass and active pharmaceutical ingredients according to leaf, flower and stalk ratios and cannabinoid content. 

Further to Micron's Cannavore solid waste management program, the company noted it is now positioned for core competency in overall cannabis facility wastewater management. Bhushan, who has more than 20 years of experience in digestion science and wastewater treatment in Canada and internationally, will lead Micron's cannabis facility wastewater mitigation consulting services, which will be offered to existing and planned cannabis facilities seeking to sustainably address both green waste and water management through the reclamation and purification of facility wastewater.

"Micron's team of scientists and engineers, assisted by the support of strategic partners Aurora Cannabis Inc. and BC Research Inc., is unique in the world in terms of specialization, experience and knowledge in the management of solid cannabis waste and the purification of cannabis-containing wastewater," said Alfred Wong, Micron's president and CEO, in a statement. "We intend to leverage this valuable portfolio of expertise to expand our potential revenue base, consulting to and servicing cannabis cultivators seeking overall sustainable, compliant solid waste and wastewater management.”

Micron's Cannavore waste system prototype continues to meet milestones at Aurora's Mountain facility near Calgary, where is it undergoing full throughput processing and stress testing. The world's first closed loop cannabis waste processing system was designed to Aurora's specifications to be a clean technology solution to process organic waste generated from the growth and cultivation of cannabis, while mitigating concerns about the potential environmental impact.

Micron currently has additional Cannavore systems under construction, working with strategic partner BC Research Inc. Micron's Organivore food waste system prototype is being upgraded with new technology developed for the Cannavore. In the company's New Verticals Program, additional waste targets are being assessed in food processing and brewing and spirits, using the onsite laboratory and Organivore test unit at the company's Innovation Centre.