Cannabis-based packaging and paper could reduce waste, promote sustainability

Cannabis businesses have long struggled with the excessive packaging their products are required to use, employing extra layers of plastic and paper to ensure that flower or vape products are childproof and don’t fall into the wrong hands.

But that struggle might be nearing its end: New plant-based paper and plastic packaging options are coming to market at a price point that’s comparable to conventional packaging. That’s all thanks to the ingenuity of a few innovative minds that are working to use hemp and marijuana waste to make cannabis bio-circular. In other words, the plants come from the earth, and their leftover waste can be used to create environmentally friendly products such as hemp paper that can be recycled multiple times rather than going straight to a landfill.

And cannabis companies are here for it, said Erica Halverson, founder and CEO of Tiny ePaper, a Long Beach, California-based company that makes 100% hemp paper. Halverson said the interest in and need for sustainable packaging in the cannabis industry was the green light she needed to launch her company.