What A Waste
Plastic drams, E-cig batteries, plant tags, Mylar bags, rock wool cubes and old grow bulbs. These are a few of my least favorite things. It used to be that the only weed waste was the Ziploc bag you got it in.
Times have changed.
The commercial cannabis industry, in particular indoor cultivation, has created a whole new stream of waste that was virtually nonexistent prior to state legalization. Some of this is due to the nature of indoor cultivation. Regardless of whether it’s cannabis or another crop, indoor cultivation creates far more waste than any other method. Rock wool cubes, made of super heated basalt rock that is spun like thread, are a one time use material. Even though there are facilities in Europe that recycle this stuff we have yet to see one here in the US. Due to the federal status of the plant that would require a recycling facility in every state that has a marijuana program, something that no business in their right mind would be willing to do.
Regardless of the method of cultivation, even more waste is due to regulation. Laws that require child proof, resealable containers leave little room for materials other than plastic to be used. The need to affix each individual plant and each subsequent package of flower or joints or concentrates with a RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tag that can only be used once is not only wasteful, but also very costly to producers. A small cultivator (~10,000sf) can easily use 3000 plant tags per month, every month of the year.
Things have gotten better though. More and more cultivators are using LED lighting which is not only more efficient, but uses diodes that last much longer than legacy high pressure sodium bulbs. They also do not contain mercury which requires that these legacy bulbs be disposed of as hazardous waste. More cultivators are using coco coir versus rock wool as a growing substrate. From a cultivation standpoint it is more forgiving and from an environmental standpoint it is reusable and biodegradable.
We can do better. There are examples of businesses out there that are switching to recyclable packaging and regulators are starting to listen to operator’s concerns over single use, state required tags. Let’s continue this momentum. The irony that green isn’t so green right now needs to change.
PRODUCT NEWS
Cleaner water through recirculation? It’s possible
OTHER NEWS
I’m sure you’ve already heard. Ohio became the 24th state to legalize recreational marijuana… by a big margin.
The Florida recreational marijuana bid also seems to be gaining momentum.
Sea Of Green podcast Episode #9 featuring Derrick Knudsen of Meta Talent Group will be available this Sunday 11/12 . Listen to his take not only on employment in cannabis but also the burgeoning psychedelics space.
Never let the opinions of others become the myth that defines you
Thanks for reading
d
