In an astounding find by Canada’s first retail customers, for every gram of cannabis sold there is in excess of as much as 70 grams of packaging. That’s a lot of lasting waste, and without a solid recycling program put in place, it’s already turning some consumers off.
Moncton resident Remi Robichaud said,”It’s really shameful. Being a coastal province, they should do something about the amount of plastic that goes into our ocean.” Which is a very real concern. A friend of Robichaud weighed the packaging that came with one gram of cannabis on a food scale and it came out to 70 grams between the plastic, foil and other packaging.
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And it’s not a Moncton phenomenon. In Nova Scotia, Greg Mac, who has a YouTube Channel “Greg Mac Reviews Whatever,” put up a picture of all the packaging that came with his cannabis, with the caption, “This is how much packaging / Waste for just 4 grams of weed from the Nova Scotia Liquor Commision.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/BpCcEE1Hndv
Previously Mac had been getting his cannabis at medical dispensaries and said that the product simply came in a plastic zippered bag, which was just fine for him. But is there any sort of method to this packaging madness?
Health Canada’s website states that cannabis ought to, “be packaged in an immediate container that is tamper-evident, child-resistant, prevents contamination and keeps cannabis dry.” It goes on to say, “Regulations would require that the immediate container be opaque or translucent. Products could have both an inner and outer package, but every package would need to be labelled in accordance with the proposed requirements.”
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Robichaud and Mac both agree that glass jars, which are reusable and useful, should be considered as an option, especially with the world seemingly banding together to make the planet healthier for wild and sealife, not to mention us humans and our descendants. Bans on plastic items are already taking effect, including an impending ban on plastic straws.
Cannabis is supposed to be the green option all the way around. Its roots breed better soil, its properties lend medicine without the burden of side effects, organic cannabis is practically the norm now and it’s already high time that the way it’s delivered gets with the fledgling post-excessive-waste era.
