Cannavore turns cannabis waste into drinking water

Canadian regulations governing the management of organic waste from cannabis cultivation are very strict. For the time being, only the flower can be used as is, while the stems and leaves must be destroyed or transformed into another product, although no concrete, official solution has yet been found for this last alternative.

A young student recently proposed reuse crop waste to renovate native habitat. This time, a biotech company intends to reprocess waste into drinking water!

Microbes and enzymes in this artificial intestine

The company Micron Waste Technologies, which has a partnership with Aurora Cannabis, has created a mobile unit called Cannavore which filters cannabis residues, separates solids from liquids and «creates» drinking water. The unit also alters cannabinoids in the digestion process. The liquid produced by the Cannavore therefore holds no surprises for potential consumers.

The Cannavore is a digester, an industrial-grade cannabis waste processor, which pulverizes and returns plant waste in combination with a proprietary blend of microbes and enzymes designed and developed by Micron. The liquids from the digester are then treated to obtain clean water that can be reused in cultivation operations. Cannavore biosolids can also be sold as animal feed.

«We have developed a digester for organic waste that works like no other technology in the world, said Cam Battley, general manager of Aurora Cannabis. «It takes food waste or cannabis waste, processes it in about 24 hours and the product that comes out is water clean enough to drink. It's a cleaner, greener and more economical way of processing waste whether it's food or cannabis waste.»

The Cannavore can be moved from site to site, or installed on site to reduce the ecological footprint associated with travel.