within less than a year and leave no harmful residual material behind.
FROM DOGWASTE TO INNOVATION
Sure sounds like disruptive innovation to me... Or consider the New Zealand firm BioLumic. It has developed a series of ultraviolet-light “recipes” to allow the plant (and not just cannabis) to reach its full genetic expression. Through photobiology, engineering, and data science, these recipes improve yields, have demonstrated increases in cannabinoid profiles, and offer a more robust growing cycle. Through photobiology, engineering, and data science, these recipes improve yields, have demonstrated increases in cannabinoid profiles, and offer a more robust growing cycle. BioLumic’s processes originally focused on tomatoes and soybeans, and it was while running trials in hemp for CBD that it found across-the-board improvements for both hemp and marijuana strains. The bonus was that these recipes also trigger a UV response, which makes plants more resistant to disease and pathogens. The process is clean, green, and GMO-free. And here in the U.S., there is bio365, a company with applications also beyond just cannabis. Bio365 produces a living soil that increases the bioavailability of nutrients while reducing the need for external chemical inputs and fertilizers. Using a high- temperature, super-low-ash biochar, this grow medium can claim a remarkably high surface area, super-high porosity, low ash, and carbon
The good news is there are the diamond- in-the-rough startups that emphasize the entire plant and have developed agricultural and bioscience technologies to innovate and compliantly compete. One such group is the London, Ontario-based Truly Green Plastic (“TGP”). It takes hemp biomass waste (the used fiber or pulp), introduces a proprietary bacteria and fermentation process, and generates a polymer that is 100% biodegradable, food-safe, and capable of replacing single-use plastics. Tarek Moharram is the CEO of TGP, and like many innovative introductions, the idea behind the process came as Tarek was pondering one of life’s great mysteries. At first, it was a simple idea... Why don’t dog-waste bags have the capacity to break down in a landfill based on contact with their organic contents? I soon realized that the products on the market at the time were over-engineered in that they could do much more than hold dog waste and, as a result, took much longer than needed to break down. Many of the so-called ‘biodegradable’ options required either limited-availability industrial composting plants or significant access to oxygen and sunlight to break the product down. Unfortunately, that is not possible when buried under layer upon layer of other types of landfill waste. I built a team of experts and challenged them to make a polymer that would naturally break down based on contact with organic matter
American Consequences
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