Microsoft reportedly buys $1B worth of human waste to counter pollution caused by AI

Artificial Intelligence (AI) leaves a significant impact on the environment. Its toll on energy and resource consumption often gets overlooked by its advanced operations and developing market in several industries worldwide. 

At a time when AI has dominantly marked its prominence in many professional fields, more and more people are now realizing how its advancement can contribute to pollution.

Recently, Microsoft has purchased human waste worth a billion dollars to counter the pollution effects of AI. To know more about the staggering investment and the interesting project to help offset the carbon emissions from its AI-driven data centers, read on.

A look at Microsoft's deal to control pollution by AI

Microsoft has bought over $1bn worth of sewage to counter pollution cause by AI.

They'll work with Vaulted Deep to inject the waste 5,000 feet underground. pic.twitter.com/nof0zeqPIx

— News on X (@GlobalNewsOnX) July 22, 2025

As one of the world's biggest tech giants, Microsoft produces a substantial carbon footprint. In an attempt to counter pollution, Microsoft concluded with the decision to buy 4.9 million metric tons of carbon dioxide removal credits from a startup named Vaulted Deep. 

According to The Wall Street Journal, the deal between the two firms will begin in 2026, and the deal has been signed for the next 12 years. 

The agreement between Microsoft and Vaulted Deep delves into the global tech firm burying its 4.9 million metric tons of carbon emissions in human and firm waste around 5,000 feet underground, according to a report by Dexerto. Reportedly, the burial procedure will be conducted using a pump to reach thousands of feet underground. 

The outlet confirmed Inc.'s report that each credit to eliminate a ton of carbon dioxide costs about $350. Tom's Hardware calculated an estimated budget for the one-of-a-kind project to counter pollution and reported that Microsoft would need to invest around $1.7 billion to deal with it.

At the time of publishing, Microsoft and Vaulted Deep have not revealed the specific numbers invested for the much-talked-about deal. 

Microsoft just dropped over $1B on literal sewage 💩 — all to offset AI’s environmental impact.

Partnering with Vaulted Deep, they’ll inject the waste 5,000 feet underground.
AI might be futuristic, but cleaning up after it? Still a dirty job.

— Awnish Sharma (@sharma__awnish) July 21, 2025

Vaulted Deep CEO Julia Reichelstein opened up about the process involved in reducing pollution created by AI using human and agricultural waste. As Dexerto reported, she explained,

"Generally, what happens to these wastes today is they go to a landfill, get dumped in a waterway, or they’re just spread on land."

Detailing further about the scientific method, she elaborated,

"In all of those cases, they’re decomposing into CO2 and methane. That’s contributing to climate change. And then oftentimes, especially when it’s spread on land, all those pathogens are going directly into people’s groundwater."

Sharing an insight into the operations, Julia further added,

"Vaulted offers a dual solution. It meets urgent waste management needs and drives measurable climate and public health improvements."

Microsoft is surprisingly not the first company to come up with this approach to tackle AI polluting and harming the real environment. Derby and Los Angeles are two cities that have already implemented this inventive strategy in the past.

The Wall Street Journal cited Reichelstein's explanations of the system. She clarified in a statement, 

"We are taking different types of organic waste. It is sludgy, often contaminated organic waste that today causes problems above ground, and instead we take the waste and put it really deep underground for permanent carbon removal."

Microsoft's Brian Marrs discussed the agreement with Vaulted Deep and spoke about the startup, noting it is "a waste management company that’s become a carbon dioxide removal company."

This partnership with Vaulted Deep is not Microsoft's first attempt to combat pollution. The tech firm is dedicated to focusing on a broader carbon removal initiative. Till now in 2025, the company secured around 59 tons through various projects. 

How does the process function?

Daniel Sanchez serves as an Assistant Professor of Cooperative Extension at the University of California, Berkeley. The Wall Street Journal reported his comments on describing the method to combat pollution caused by using artificial intelligence. Daniel shared,

"It is the sludgy waste, the stuff we really don’t have any other use for, and they want to inject it underground into permanent geological storage."

Defining it as "it is as simple as one can get," Sanchez also broke down a crucial point to understand the removal of carbon dioxide and biosolids. According to the assistant professor's comment, biosolids such as sewage and manure are often used as fertilizers. These certainly can serve as fertilizers, but small amounts are effective in agriculture. 
While it is considered safe for the environment, discarding excess amounts of waste poses risks to affect the surrounding nature and environment.

According to The Wall Street Journal, Microsoft expressed its interest in multiple carbon-removal projects as well. All the companies and projects the firm has shown interest in are quite uncommon and unconventional. 

They are fascinated by the idea of regrowing former rainforests in Panama. Another interesting approach liked by the tech giant is adding the carbon emissions produced during the incineration of large amounts of trash from a Norwegian city and then dumping the gases beneath the North Sea. Former oil wells are likely to be used for the burial.

It is only a matter of time before the company finalizes and announces the projects they are willing to take forward and invest in over the upcoming years.