Microsoft inks deal to remove carbon footprint by purchasing human waste – How much is it paying to buy your ‘poop’?

Microsoft is spending billions to buy 4.9 million metric tonnes of organic waste, including human waste, to support its green goals.

According to a report by Inc, in efforts to double down on its carbon removal goal, Microsoft signed a deal with Houston-based startup Vaulted Deep. The deal is aimed at helping the tech giant reduce its carbon footprint over 12 years.

As part of the deal, Microsoft will not just buy human waste. It will also purchase manure, treated sewage, and agricultural byproducts as part of the deal, for Vaulted Deep to use them to reduce carbon footprint.

Why is Microsoft buying human waste?

To put Microsoft’s deal with Vaulted Deep into context, it’s necessary to understand the motive behind the tech giant’s move.

Artificial intelligence models, such as ChatGPT, Perplexity and Microsoft’s own CoPilot, as well as most tech-related endeavours require huge amounts of energy and water to function. This raises carbon footprints significantly.

In order to address this issue, Microsoft is planning to buy organic waste and bury it underground to ensure it does not release greenhouse gases, effectively reducing its carbon footprint.

Global warming, on the other hand, is caused mostly by carbon dioxide and methane. That is why burying organic waste deep underground has long acted as a cost-effective solution, being passed around over the years.

How much is Microsoft paying to buy your ‘poop’?

According to the Inc report, Vaulted Deep has not disclosed the financial terms of the deal.

The report also specified that the startup charges $350 for a tonne of carbon dioxide removal.

However, its CEO and co-founder Julia Reichelstein said that this price is “expected to decline over time and does not reflect the figure paid by Microsoft.”

“It’s absolutely incredible for Vaulted,” she said about the deal.

“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 deal with Vaulted Deep is the second-largest ever in the carbon removal space, according to tracker CDR.fyi. The largest deal in the space was also signed by Microsoft earlier this year, with AtmosClear to remove 6.75 million metric tons of carbon dioxide over 15 years.