Microsoft wants to buy your poop. The reason is…
Microsoft actually wants your poop or human waste, as most would call it. Seriously. For serious work.
Microsoft is buying 4.9 million metric tonnes of organic waste, which includes human waste, manure, paper sludge, food and agricultural residue. According to a report by Inc., this is part of a deal with the startup Vaulted Deep (known for "putting waste to work), through which the tech giant aims to reduce the global carbon footprint.
For context, artificial intelligence programmes, such as those that power ChatGPT or Microsoft’s own Copilot suite, and even most tech-related endeavours require large amounts of energy and water to function, which in turn raises a company's carbon footprint.
To address this, Microsoft aims to purchase organic waste and bury it deep underground so that it does not release any greenhouse gases, thereby reducing the company's overall carbon footprint.
A significant portion of global warming is caused by carbon dioxide and methane. This is why burying waste deep underground is a cost-effective solution that has been passed around.
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The Science Behind It
When waste products, including human waste or sewage, are sent to a landfill or enter a freshwater body, or patch of land, they generate large amounts of carbon dioxide and methane, which contribute to climate change. Furthermore, this process can create unsanitary conditions and spread disease-causing pathogens.
Vaulted Deep's solution is to transfer this carbon-rich waste underground, so that the carbon dioxide and methane never makes it to the atmosphere, and act as a catalyst to global warming.
“It’s absolutely incredible for Vaulted,” Julia Reichelstein, CEO of Vaulted Deep was quoted as saying by Inc. She added, “That’s really a license to operate and say, ‘Yes, green light. We can build new sites, we can invest in them, because if we can put it in the ground we’ll have a buyer for it.’”
Microsoft’s Wants To Become Carbon Neutral By 2030
“By 2030 Microsoft will be carbon negative, and by 2050 Microsoft will remove from the environment all the carbon the company has emitted either directly or by electrical consumption since it was founded in 1975,” the tech giant had announced in 2020.
Microsoft claims it is investing in new carbon reduction and removal technologies. Plus, the company says it is ensuring transparency and empowering customers around the world to take action.
Like most carbon-neutral companies, Microsoft has achieved its neutrality status largely by investing in offsets that primarily avoid emissions, rather than removing carbon that already exists in the atmosphere.
It has also made other pledges, including fully electrifying its global campus operations vehicle fleet by 2030 and more.
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