Regulations
Your Partner in Cannabis
Green Waste Compliance
The Problem
While Colorado’s economy initially enjoyed a boom due to the rapid growth of the recreational and medical cannabis programs, a small, unrecognized issue grew into a big problem on city streets and at state and commercial landfills. Due to current regulations, licensed facilities that grow cannabis must effectively destroy / remediate the waste generated by their operations to make it “unusable”, and that waste must be mixed 50/50 with another state approved filler / amendment material to make it “unrecognizable”.
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Cannabis waste regulations are written this way in an effort to reduce diversion, or the act of distributing and selling legally grown cannabis in the black market. Much of the cultivation or production waste ends up in a dumpster destined for the landfill or "stolen" from that dumpster. Unfortunately, due to the lack of standardized, specifically licensed and consistent waste management methods or regulations, this waste can still be accessed and usable on the streets.
The Facts
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Effective January 5, 2026​
STATEMENT OF ADOPTION - Basis and Purpose 3-230
3-230 – Waste Disposal
​The purpose of this rule is to establish waste disposal requirements for Regulated Marijuana Businesses and to provide more sustainable options for Regulated Marijuana waste including composting, anaerobic digestion, pyrolyzing into biochar or biomass gasification.
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D. Regulated Marijuana Waste Must Be Made unusable and Unrecognizable.
1. A Regulated Marijuana Business may Transfer Vaporizer Delivery Device waste prior to being made unusable and Unrecognizable for purposes of grinding or compacting the Vaporizer Delivery Device waste at the Licensed Premises of another Regulated Marijuana Business.
2. Fibrous Waste is unusable and Unrecognizable without further rendering and may leave the Licensed Premises for purposes of disposal or transfer to an Industrial Fiber Products Producer...
E. 2. Other Permitted and Sustainable Methods for Rendering Regulated Marijuana Waste unusable and Unrecognizable. A Regulated Marijuana Business may render its Regulated Marijuana waste unusable and Unrecognizable through the following methods and subject to the following requirements and restrictions:
a. The following methods are exempt from the 50/50 waste mixing requirement in subparagraph (E)(1) above and can be used to render Regulated Marijuana unusable and Unrecognizable:
i. On-site composting;
ii. Anaerobic digestion;
iii. Pyrolyze into biochar; or
iv. Biomass gasification.
b. Requirements for Other Permitted and Sustainable Methods to Render Regulated Marijuana Waste unusable and Unrecognizable.
​i. A Regulated Marijuana Business may utilize on its own Licensed Premises or may Transfer Regulated Marijuana waste to another Regulated Marijuana Business for on-site composting, anaerobic digestion, pyrolyzing into biochar or biomass gasification.​
ii. A Regulated Marijuana Business may transfer Fibrous Waste and fan leaves to an area outside the Licensed Premises that is under the Licensee’s possession and control OR to an unlicensed third-party that is registered and in good standing with the Colorado Secretary of State for composting, anaerobic digestion, pyrolyzing into biochar or biomass gasification.
​iv. A Regulated Marijuana Business or an unlicensed third-party providing composting, anaerobic digestion, pyrolyzing into biochar or biomass gasification shall ensure that the organic composition of the Regulated Marijuana waste is permanently altered so that it is rendered unusable and Unrecognizable.
The Solution
Cannacycl, in support of state regulations and a "full-circle" sustainability methodology is changing the business behavior of this dynamic, but maturing Colorado cannabis industry.
With over 7 years of services delivery and targeted customer consulting in Colorado, we have a proven track record of providing cost savings for our customers in areas of Labor and Waste Remediation. In the end, we address the known state compliance requirements our customers face with the MED or CDPHE.
Cannabis waste management industry regulations aren't easy to navigate. We can help.
"If you think compliance is expensive –
try non-compliance."
Former U.S. Deputy Attorney General,
Paul McNulty
