As the cannabis industry strives to regulate itself across the United States, we see the growing concern about environmental impact. One such area is the use of plastic tags, mandated by regulators in state-run track-and-trace programs. METRC, the regulatory partner in more than 17 states, issues tags on a license by license basis and though the details vary by state, the bottom line is that each plant must have one tag. In other words, on a small farm with about 3,000 plants that executes 2 harvests per calendar year, 12,000 pieces of plastic will be introduced into the system EVERY year. 6,000 tags and 6,000 zip ties for each tag.

The majority of operators are growing far more than 3,000 plants and often times harvest up to 4 times per year. This means that we are introducing MILLIONS of new, non-reusable plastics into the system every year. Because there is no recycling mandate associated with METRC, we can assume the national average of a 9% recycling rate.

METRC utilizes RFID technology - let us urge them and the tag manufacturers to design a hemp-derived or compostable tag that AVOIDS adding MILLIONS of new plastics into the environment each year.