Micron Awarded Industrial Design Certificate of Registration for Food and Cannabis Waste Digester
July 09, 2018 07:00 ET | Source: Micron Waste Technologies Inc.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, July 09, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Micron Waste Technologies Inc. (the “Company”) (CSE:MWM) (OTC:MICWF) (Frankfurt:7FM2), a leading developer of aerobic digester solutions for the treatment of organic food and cannabis waste, has been awarded an Industrial Design Certificate of Registration from the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO) for its commercial Organic Waste Digester Unit. Micron’s Application Number 177758 sought and won intellectual property protection for innovative features unique to Micron’s unit, which processes both food waste and cannabis plant waste on a commercial scale. The Company’s design patent is also pending in the United States.
The CIPO design patent is valid for five years with an option to renew for an additional five years of exclusivity. The new functional design enhances food waste digestion efficiency by up to 40% while reducing the machine’s footprint and waste digestion time. The patent-pending technology was repurposed for Micron’s Cannabis Waste Digester. The Company’s first Cannabis Waste Digester unit was delivered to Aurora Cannabis Inc.’s (“Aurora”) (TSX:ACB) Mountain facility outside Calgary, Alberta on June 28, 2018. At 55,200 square foot Aurora Mountain, which produces 4,800 kg of premium cannabis each year, the unit will undergo final site installation and calibration to match production cycles.
The Cannabis Waste Digester, an industrial-grade organic waste processor, pulverizes and renders organic waste in combination with a proprietary blend of microbes and enzymes designed and developed by Micron. Importantly, as part of Micron’s full-system waste treatment platform, effluent from the digester is further treated to derive clean greywater which can be re-used in industrial or agricultural operations. Alternatively, the treated regulatory-compliant greywater from the Cannabis Waste Digester, which meets municipal discharge standards, can be safely discharged. Active pharmaceutical compounds in cannabis waste are further biologically treated to denature cannabinoids present, keeping them out of waste streams.
“Receipt of the CIPO Industrial Design Certificate is further testament to Micron’s innovation in agricultural and organic waste processing biotechnology and engineering,” said Micron President Alfred Wong. “It has always been Micron’s intention to create a system that was not only best-in-class, but one that re-invented that class entirely. Our platform marries organic waste digestion with water reclamation and purification to solve our customers’ waste processing needs cleanly, cost-effectively and without dumping effluent downstream where it causes problems for municipal waste treatments plants.”
The Organic Waste Digester system, an environmentally-sound green technology platform, also uses advanced computer science for remote real-time diagnostics monitoring and control. The comprehensive system has been engineered to operate on-site where needed in a contained unit which does not emit sound or smell, while exempting customers from the need to haul, incinerate or landfill waste.
The Micron Cannabis Waste Digester was engineered based on proven technology used by the Company in its Organic Waste Digester Unit. The Company’s Cannabis Waste Digester system 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. Active cannabinoid residues are altered and denatured through use of patent-pending microbial and enzymatic digestion agents. Importantly, the Micron system reclaims water from cannabis waste and purifies it for re-use in growing operations. The Mountain facility unit is the first of several to be commissioned by Aurora, subject to the technology meeting certain milestones per a collaboration agreement announced in December 2017. Subsequent units will be available to Canadian, American and international cannabis cultivators.
Cannabis Waste Digester Naming Contest
Micron is currently holding a naming contest for the Cannabis Waste Digester, with the winner to receive $2000 USD and an all-expenses paid trip for two to the Aurora Mountain facility to christen the unit. The contest is open to residents of Canada and the United States. To enter and for full contest details, please visit www.micronwaste.com/contest. The contest closes July 31, 2018.
Stock Option Grant
On July 6, 2018, the Company granted 865,000 options to purchase common stock to various directors, officers, employees, and consultants, at an exercise price of $0.55, for a term of five years, pursuant to the Company’s incentive stock option plan.
