U of A spinoff AI waste company represents Canada in NASA’s recycling challenge on the moon

A University of Alberta spinoff company is one of 18 selected to try and find the solution to waste generated by astronauts in space.

A spinoff company from the University of Alberta has become the only Canadian finalist for a chance to design a recycling system in space.

Waste Parrot is one of 17 competitors in the race to create a system for waste reduction aboard NASA’s Artemis II, which is moon-bound next year.

The company, which was born out of the smart lab at U of A, was chosen out of 1,200 applicants.

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Waste Parrot is an AI organization dedicated to “revolutionizing the waste management industry,” according to its website, and was created by U of A PhD program alumni Junaid Osman and U of A associate professor Rafiq Ahmad.

“We specialize in AI drone-based, robot-based 3D printing-based waste recycling for the moon and on the earth,” Ahmad told CTV News Edmonton on Thursday.

NASA’s Artemis II is part of the space giant’s LunaRecycle Challenge, which aims to create sustainable solutions for human waste during missions.

Ahmad said astronauts produce almost 125 kilograms of waste per person during each trip, on average, and it’s becoming increasingly important to find ways to recycle it.

He added that Waste Parrot believes recycling can go much further than biological waste.

“[Astronauts] can’t afford to come back to earth and recreate or buy another tool, so they will need to find a way to use resources available on the moon,” Ahmad explained.

“For example, using the regular materials from the moon, combining it with plastic, they can create structures. They can create bricks, which they can use as a shielding material. They can create their houses on the moon.”

That venture, he acknowledged, requires different types of thinking and technology – which Waste Parrot is eager to do.

Their company’s pitch involves three avenues of technology. They’re aiming to recycle plastics into usable products and create bricks but also convert biological waste into potential energy.

Their ideas earned them a place as Phase I winners in the LunaRecycle challenge out of applicants from across 86 countries.

A total of $3 million is up for grabs for successful companies.

Submissions for Phase II are due by August 2026 – which is when Ahmad hopes to have a prototype for testing.

With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Darcy Seaton