As cannabis is beginning to become legal, businesses must find out how to deal with the product and its byproducts. Because of the chemical makeup of cannabis, its byproducts are not like those of traditional manufacturing and, therefore, must be dealt with appropriately. All cannabis-related businesses should consider how cannabis waste should be managed because it is a relatively new topic. Since more states are legalizing marijuana, it is something all cannabis-related enterprises should do. So whether you deal with cannabis cultivators or producers, you need to know about cannabis waste management. This article will be looking at solid vs. liquid waste disposal.
What is Cannabis Waste?
Before we can start looking at how to dispose of cannabis waste or byproducts, we must first know what it is. In short, cannabis waste is any hazardous material or byproduct of cannabis production. There are several categories that byproducts of cannabis production and cultivation fall under.
These waste products include growing materials and equipment such as soil and sponges. Clippings and leftover plant portions are examples of surplus cannabis material. Unused or expired cannabis goods could consist of CBD, fluids, tinctures, oils, extracts, or other cannabis-infused products. Paraphernalia includes items like containers, capsules, or packaging that have come into contact with cannabis or are used for cannabis processing and storage.
Manufacturers must render these goods unusable and unidentifiable for them to be classified as garbage. This requires companies to figure out ways to eliminate cannabis-related items and packaging. The fundamental reason for this rule is that authorities are concerned that incorrect disposal might lead to secondary and black-market production and soil and water contamination.
There are two forms of cannabis hazardous waste: solid and liquid, and each must always be handled in accordance with federal and state regulations.
Solid Waste Disposal
The standard for defining solid waste is “unrecognizable and useless.” This implies that nobody should be able to instantly recognize it as cannabis. Many cannabis companies feature a facility on-site for pulverizing waste into tiny pieces.
If the material is not dangerous, it is combined with other non-cannabis materials, such as garden clippings, and composted or disposed of properly. If it’s harmful, it’s mixed with sand, plastic, or sawdust before being disposed of through the proper channels.
Cannabis waste can be discarded in an approved landfill, burned, composted, or digested in-vessel. In addition to the generation of organic waste in the cannabis sector, regulations demand sturdy protective packaging for hemp and cannabis-related items.
Liquid Waste Disposal
Liquid cannabis waste is a little trickier. Waste classified as hazardous must be appropriately disposed of by proper labeling and transporting to a hazardous waste management facility. Therefore, cannabis businesses must work with licensed transport services to collect and dispose of harmful liquids.
Whether derived from cultivated or treated cannabis, liquid waste must comply with all relevant regulations. Maintaining compliance entails adhering to cannabis waste rules and regulations.
Waste Management Technology
No matter the type of cannabis wastes your company needs to dispose of, when you include technology into your business, you give yourself the ability to enhance operations, prove compliance, and measure efficiency and productivity. By putting a waste disposal strategy into your training and standard operating procedures, you guarantee that the correct people are allocated to the task and that your operations run smoothly.
PegEx® offers a simple waste management and compliance software platform for the cannabis and CBD industries. You recognize the necessity of being legally compliant in waste management as growers, labs, manufacturers, and merchants. PegEx® will optimize your waste, whether it is biomass from your grow, crude oil, or butane run-off from extractions, inbound or outbound, to keep you in business and protect you from getting fined!
