Micron Waste Technologies Inc., a leading developer of aerobic digester solutions for the treatment of organic waste, announced that the design and manufacturing of its Cannabis Waste Digester is now complete, with delivery to Aurora Cannabis Inc.’s facility in Mountain View County, Alberta, Canada, scheduled for the week of June 25.

At Aurora Mountain, a 55,200-square-foot, purpose-built cannabis production and cultivation facility with an output of approximately 4,800 kg of premium cannabis each year, the unit will undergo final onsite beta testing and optimization specific to production cycles. To date, organic waste from the facility has been processed using traditional methods under Health Canada regulations.

The Micron Cannabis Waste Digester, with multiple patents pending, was engineered based on proprietary foundation technology proven through an extensive food waste processing project with a large supermarket chain. The Mountain facility unit is the first of several commissioned by Aurora, subject to the technology meeting certain milestones, under a collaboration agreement announced in December 2017. Subsequent units will be available to Canadian, American and international cannabis cultivators.

“The Cannabis Waste Digester is a model of green technology innovation, and its shipment to Aurora for final testing is a key milestone that positions us well to access this rapidly growing market,” said Micron President Alfred Wong in a statement. “Our digester offers cannabis cultivators the ability to treat cannabis waste onsite without the need for hauling to landfills or incineration. Importantly, it treats cannabis residues and keeps them out of the waste stream, while producing clean water and facilitating efficient waste inspection for growers and regulators.”

The company’s proprietary Cannabis Waste Digester resulted from a collaboration with Aurora to develop a clean technology solution to process organic waste generated from the growth and cultivation of cannabis, while mitigating concerns about the potential environmental impact.

“Industry-leading innovation is central to the Aurora Standard,” said Aurora Vice President of Production Dieter MacPherson in a statement. “We asked Micron to work with us to reinvent cannabis waste processing to make it more cost effective, less onerous and particularly environmentally sound. We look forward to receipt of the first Cannabis Waste Digester at Aurora Mountain and working with the Micron team to fine-tune it to meet our specifications.”

Water extracted from cannabis waste by the Micron digester is treated to meet local water discharge standards or can be recycled back into the cultivation process. Cannabinoid residues, including Δ9-THCA, Δ9-THC, CBDA, CBD and CBN, present in the waste streams are denatured.

“Developing a platform to denature cannabis residues was an exciting scientific and technological challenge,” said Micron Waste Chief Technology Officer Dr. Bob Bhushan, developer of Micron’s commercial organic food waste digester system, in a statement. “I am extremely proud of our scientific team of biologists and engineers who took this project from concept to completion in under six months. We exceeded the requirements of Health Canada’s Access to Cannabis for Medical Purposes Regulations and improved on our previous high standards for wastewater purification, which were already over and above those stipulated in municipal discharge regulations.”