As a cannabis enthusiast, you appreciate how nature delivers a sacred plant to help you manage stress, anxiety, and mood. Cannabis changes users’ lives, opening a world of pain-relief, cerebral pleasure, and, some might say, enlightenment.
So, as cannabis users, we need to give back to nature. By adopting sustainable best practices with cannabis use, you reduce your environmental impact. We curated this list of strategies to help you reduce waste and become an environmentally-sustainable cannabis user.
Ditch the Plastic, Please!
Plastic waste is a problem for the world. Every year, millions of tons of plastic waste enter the ocean. As the plastic breaks down, it forms ‘microplastics,’ which are turning up in everything – even human bloodstreams.
By reducing your consumption of single-use plastics, you can help cut down on the amount of plastic waste in the environment. Instead of using plastic baggies to transport buds, buy yourself a sustainable container.
Choose glass jars over plastic pop-top drams, and buy a steel or aluminum grinder instead of a plastic model. When you’re looking at buying cannabis products, choose brands that use sustainable packaging materials like recycled plastics and hemp.
Reducing plastic waste should be the top priority of an eco-conscious cannabis user. Take action today and put down the plastic.
Recycle Your Plastic Packaging
Does your dispensary offer a recycling program for your flower pop-top drams and other plastic materials? Recycling your packaging reduces waste entering the landfills, making your cannabis consumption kinder to the environment.
If your dispensary doesn’t offer recycling for your packaging, find one that does. If you can’t bear the thought of leaving your dispensary, that’s fine. However, keep your packaging in a storage container and dump it at the recycling plant every few months.
Reuse Your Concentrate Boxes and Jars
We love dabbing as much as anyone. Concentrates bring you to a whole new level of high. Most brands offer you concentrates in small containers and glass jars. Concentrate jars are also ideal for holding lotions, oils, and balms. Check if the dispensary has a recycling program for these packaging items.
If they don’t offer recycling options, collect your jars at home. You can use them to store other household items and food. Concentrate boxes are great for transporting carb caps and other fragile glass pieces. The padded bottom in the box absorbs shock that might break it.
Plant in Plastic Flower Pop-Top Drams
Are you wondering what to do with your collection of plastic pop-top drams? If you’re like us, they pile up in a box and eventually start falling out all over the place. Instead of dumping that load of plastic in the trash, take it to the recycling plant.
If you don’t want to bother with the trip to the recycler, you could always use the drams to plant an indoor herb garden. Cut holes in the bottom of the drams and use the caps for a small drip tray. These containers are the ideal size for growing herbs on your kitchen windowsill.
If you grow, you can use this idea for propagating clones and other plants. If you don’t have a green thumb, you can always use the drams as storage for other household items.
Reuse Your Gummie Tins for Storage
There’s nothing better than opening a fresh tin of THC CBD gummies, but what do you do with the container when it’s empty? Instead of throwing it in the trash, use it as storage for your papers, scissors, tips, grinder, and other rolling or dabbing gear.
You can also use the tin to store your wettish bud, allowing it to dry perfectly. Tins are also useful for taking your bud on the road or storing prerolls for a road trip. Pack your q-tips and enjoy a dab on the move. You can also store your cleaning materials and accessories in a tin, keeping everything on hand when needed.
Support Ethical, Licensed Growers and Dispensaries
The cannabis industry has a legal and illegal market. Illegal growers mess with water supplies to towns and, in some cases, soak up a large percentage of the town’s fresh water. Illegal grows may also use pesticides and other chemicals when cultivating plants.
You just don’t know what you’re getting from the black market. Support your local dispensary instead of a black market dealer. With a dispensary, you get the best quality flower and oil. There’s no chance of it having harmful chemical residues.
Get a Glass Piece
Stop smoking papers and save a few trees by buying a glass bong or dab rig. Sure, we get it; nothing beats dragging on a nice joint or blunt wrap. But you might find it surprising what you can accomplish with a glass piece in your smoking collection.
A dab rig or bog gives you a new way to enjoy cannabis. You get a sustainable way to smoke or vape, and you don’t have to worry about forking out cash for papers or blunt wraps ever again.
Buy Sun Grown Cannabis Over Indoor
Growing cannabis indoors requires a lot of electricity to run the lights. Buy sun-grown cannabis and support the energy-friendly side of the industry. Some users think that outdoor buds can never match the potency of indoor.
However, several cannabis enthusiasts, including ‘The King of Cannabis,’ Arjen Roskam, swear that sun grown has more flavor, a better terpene profile, and more potency than indoor. However, we leave that decision up to you.
In Closing – Consumers Demand Quality in Their Cannabis
Cannabis consumers are becoming more conscious about the product they’re buying. Today, smokers and dabbers look for products grown without chemical pesticides or fertilizers, and they don’t want their buds or oil irradiated for pathogens.
82% of cannabis users say they prefer smoking or vaping products cultivated with a reduced carbon footprint. More than 85% of users say they choose cannabis products grown in environments that conserve water.
Are you a sustainable cannabis user? Which one of these tips will you start implementing today?
