Chester, N.S.-based circular economy company Sustane has won Canadian Food Inspection Agency approval for its organic GroBoost Fertilizer product as it eyes commercialization.

Sustane has developed technology for repurposing curbside garbage into high-value fuels and biomass pellets, converting up to 90 percent of  municipal solid waste into valuable commercial products.

The company itself grew out of technology pioneered in Spain by co-founder and chief technology officer Javier De La Fuente. He launched the business in Nova Scotia with President Peter Vinall and CFO Robert Richardson in 2014.

“This certification is significant, and we are confident in saying that this could in fact represent a new category of fertilizers," said Vinall in a statement. "We are not only organic, but we are leading the way to re-use society’s so-called waste in the highest and best way possible."

Sustane opened its Chester manufacturing plant in 2019, where its equipment sorts through piles of garbage and separates out plastics that can be recycled and be used by petrochemical manufacturers to make new materials.

The GroBoost Fertilizer will complement Sustane’s two fuel products, biomass pellets and synthetic diesel.

In a statement, the company said organic fertilizer products like GroBoost foster a healthy microbiome in the soil, improve its water retention and make it less dense, so that more air is available to plant roots. Compared to chemical fertilizers, Sustane said GroBoost is also safer for delicate plant roots that can be burned by synthetic fertilizer products.

Last November, Sustane also placed first in the Innovator of the Year category at the 2022 Mobius Awards for Environmental Excellence, presented by Divert Nova Scotia — a not-for-profit organization that promotes recycling in the province.