Pot firm joins with Emterra to enhance recycling

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This article was published 17/12/2020 (1727 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A marijuana company and Emterra Environmental have joined forces to ensure cannabis products get recycled.

“We feel we have a social responsibility to essentially contribute to the solution of cannabis waste recycling because we’re contributing to the problem, as are all (licensed producers),” said Marshall Posner, head of marketing for Delta 9 Cannabis Inc.

Most cannabis packaging can be recycled with the Blue Box program run by Multi-Material Stewardship Manitoba, but certain products such as vape pens and cartridges need special handling, said Posner.

“There was a big gap for the past year roughly, where there were absolutely no programs available and no one was doing anything essentially on the recycling side,” said Posner.

“The reasons those programs failed was because the programs… (are) too expensive for a single company to essentially cover on their own.”

Delta 9 reached out to licensed producers whose products they sell to help cover the recycling costs.

“We’re sharing the burden of the monthly expense with… our brand partners,” said Posner. “That’s the real key to the long-term expense and liability of the program.”

“We needed a program for the whole industry, that the entire industry could take part in,” said Christi Souter, digital marketing and communications manager for Emterra Group.

Emterra Environmental, a division of Emterra Group, develops positive waste management practices, produces recycled materials and creates waste reduction solutions.

Emterra will also help Delta 9 create better recyclable products.

“(Emterra) doesn’t just take the waste today and process it, we’re making tomorrow a lot more ecofriendly and the entire industry is going to benefit from this,” said Souter.

Empty cannabis containers, packages, vapes and vape cartridges can be deposited in boxes at Delta 9 retail locations.

The material will be shipped to Ontario and separated into components that can be recycled or transferred to a plant that combusts the trash to produce electricity.

“All the materials will stay within Canada… so this helps us ensure that all the items are processed appropriately in the method that makes the most sense for the environment,” said Souter.

fpcity@ freepress.mb.ca