Marijuana Business Magazine July 2018

L ’Eagle Services, a vertically inte- grated marijuana retailer in Den- ver, prides itself on sustainable, organic cultivation practices. But when it comes to finding a sus- tainable way to dispose of plant mate- rial, the search continues. L’Eagle composts its root balls and growth media, which consists of peat combined with coco mix and perlite. The company also composts all plant waste, including stalks and other material left over after the trimming process. In particular, the plant material is shredded and mixed with other media. The container it all goes in is kept under lock and key and is monitored by a camera until it’s picked up by a waste- hauling company. Regulations require the company to keep the plant waste locked up inside. operating space annually, according to Andrle. There’s also the issue of space: The containers take up extra square foot- age inside the company’s facility. “You can amass a lot (of waste) after flipping a couple of rooms,” she said. “It is a challenge.” Andrle said currently there is no incentive to compost waste, but she is hopeful that will change as consum- ers become more selective in how they source their cannabis. “A lot of people nowadays are look- ing at the quality of the business that they want to support, and we hope that follows with cannabis,” Andrle said. “We’re really hoping people start to recognize that there’s a value in that.” ◆ – Bart Schaneman Pricey Waste Disposal “It’s challenging and very expen- sive,” AmyAndrle, co-owner of L’Eagle, said of the company’s plant waste- management process. “I don’t know how long we can sustain that, because there are not a lot of good options for it, and the cost is so high.” Andrle noted, “We have to be much more careful with our plant material” than agricultural companies outside the cannabis sector. Adding to its costs, L’Eagle pays for another company to create compost with the plant material offsite. “It’s not a sustainable model right now,” Andrle said. “We’re in a pickle. As much as we want to do this – it’s our philosophy, it’s our ethos – some of these options are cost-prohibitive for a lot of companies.” Composting plant waste costs the company roughly $1 per square foot of L’Eagle Services contracts a company to produce compost from its plant waste, although the cost is substantial. Photo courtesy of L’Eagle Services SUSTAINABLE CULTIVATION July 2018 • Marijuana Business Magazine • 77