Cannabis

All cannabis products come with waste that is not recyclable (i.e. disposable vape pens/carts/pods, flower/edibles/concentrates in large glass jars/plastic bags and containers). “’By weight, the percentage of product to packaging ratio is sometimes 10 to 1. You’re maybe getting 2.8 grams of flower, but you’re carrying 16 grams of glass. It’s just not being addressed – it’s the standard that’s been held and everyone just said, ‘Okay, this is the way we’re going to do it for now’”

"The estimated energy consumption for large-scale indoor cannabis cultivation in the United States at 1% of national electricity use, or $6 billion each year. One average kilogram of final product is associated with 4600 kg of carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere, or that of 3 million average U.S. cars when aggregated across all national production. The practice of indoor cultivation is driven by criminalization, pursuit of security, pest and disease management, and the desire for greater process control and yields. Energy analysts and policymakers have not previously addressed this use of energy. The unchecked growth of electricity demand in this sector confounds energy forecasts and obscures savings from energy efficiency programs and policies."

"Cannabis cultivation creates harmful agricultural runoff, and indoor cannabis cultivation places more pressure on the existing wastewater treatments of municipalities. "