Marijuana Goes Green

As with any newly developing industry, marijuana has had several unforeseen setbacks on the road to becoming a blossoming new sector.

One such issue has been the environmental impact that the fast growing marijuana market has had on states where the drug is legal.

However, some weed-based firms are taking steps in order to reduce their impact and proactively encourage marijuana consumers to help keep marijuana green.

Packaging Issues

Marijuana products are obligated to meet several packaging and labeling requirements that keep consumers safe.

In Colorado, marijuana products must be sold in opaque, child-resistant packaging that includes tamper-proof safeguards. While this limits what a company can do with its packaging, one of the state's largest growers says it doesn't mean they are helpless.

Related Link: Chicago Pot Expo Proves That The Industry Is Far Reaching

Green Components

Kindman CEO Ryan Fox said the company is spearheading a recycling initiative designed to make consumers aware that marijuana packaging is often recyclable.

Kidman itself has focused on creating packaging that can be easily recycled and ensuring that non-recyclable packaging materials are compostable.

Packaging Concerns

The company has created a line of pre-packaged, pre-weighed cannabis brands that boast labeling that is both easily recognizable and understandable to consumers. However, Fox said the materials that went into packaging those products were just as important to the company as the product inside the box. They were carefully selected to fit the requirements of most Colorado recycling facilities and have the smallest environmental impact possible.

The plastic used in Kidman packaging is Plastic #2, which can be reused to make a variety of other plastic products. Cardboard and paper packaging components were also made to meet the requirements of mainstream recycling companies, making it easy for consumers to recycle their marijuana waste alongside their the rest of their household recyclables.

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