Let’s Go Green(er): SeaWeed Co.’s Innovative Recycling Program

It’s not new information that the cannabis industry has a gnarly footprint when it comes to waste. Regulatory requirements, demand for disposables, and just so, so, so much plastic. But there is some good news, too: there are plenty of folks out there working to tackle the matter however they can and chart a new course for this growing industry. 

We sat down with Tree Hugger Containers partner SeaWeed Co., a dispensary in Portland, Maine, with its very own recycling program for packaging materials–one that we think helps set the tone for the future of sustainable cannabis.

SeaWeed Co. was founded by Portland local and fisherman Scott Howard, and named in honor of Maine’s beautiful coastline and abundant sea resources. According to Joscelyn Pizzino, SeaWeed’s marketing manager, Howard’s goal in founding the dispensary was to “give back to the community and make sure we’re doing things as green as possible.” As such, SeaWeed’s business ethic concerns sustainability in all things, from product selection to consumer relations.

In early 2021, the organization launched its very own in-house take-back recycling program, where customers can return recyclable items for dollars off their order. If a customer reuses SeaWeed’s childproof and resealable bags, or brings back a Tree Hugger jar, they receive a dollar off their order. They can bring back as many jars for a dollar off per jar. Similarly, customers can return number three or five plastic pre-roll tubes for a discount. SeaWeed Co. then sends the collected materials to EcoMaine, a local recycling center that repurposes them.

Pizzino said that local enthusiasm for the program was fairly immediate and speaks to the local consciousness in the community around environmental sustainability. 

“Mainers love Maine,” she said. “And they want to keep it as green as possible, and they want to keep it safe.”

In environmentally-minded locales, recycling programs can be a significant driver for customers. Most of the dispensary’s regulars, Pizzino said, are willing to bring back when they remember. Locals have embraced the program more than tourists to the area, and one challenge they’ve encountered is consumers’ (understandable) confusion about the different types of plastics that can and cannot be properly recycled. People also still ask for disposable cartridges–a product SeaWeed Co. chooses not to carry over concerns over its landfill designation; “it’s not in our ethos,” she said.

SeaWeed Co. and their customer base are all about upcycling, though. Some of the jars that customers return are cleaned and sent to a local candle maker, who fills them for resale as candles in the shop. Similarly, Pizzino says that customers tag them “all the time” with their creative ways to reuse jars–such as holding spices or for homegrown flower.

Overall, SeaWeed Co. is optimistic that even smaller programs can help turn the tide toward a more environmentally conscious recreational market. 

“The cannabis industry has a bad reputation for being wasteful, which it absolutely is,” Pizzino said. “We don’t deny that, but we can help do something little to make a change and it will catch on over time.”