While you're not really wrong (most waste management systems are trying to emulate natural processes using less resources, whether they be space, time, energy, or maintenance) the core idea discussed here was initially studied in the 80s, so also decades old. It's not that it is innovative, it's that it was set by the wayside when simpler growing techniques such as hydroponics came along. Of course, those simpler techniques don't have a waste management system built in.