Sustainability

Smokey's Commitment to Sustainability.

Smokey’s is constantly working towards a more sustainable future. We are currently working on our ZERO waste initiative where diverted materials are reduced, reused, recycled, composted and/or recovered for productive use in nature or the economy. This initiative requires that 90% of our waste is diverted from the landfill. This includes both our cultivation and retail operations, where we strive to reduce the negative impact we have on the environment and our communities. 

Our living soil cultivation practices many sustainable techniques, including reusing our soil and feeding our leaf waste back into the pots to become plant food. This leaf waste also acts as a food source for our worms that live in our soil along with many other soil amendments that we source locally from the state of Colorado. We use worm castings from a local company Worm Love as an amendment for our soil. We are currently working on adding more LED lights to our grow to reduce our energy consumption. We also do on-site composting of non-cannabis materials, such as fruit and vegetable scraps. 

In 2019 we were recognized by the Cannabis Certification Council for our sustainability efforts winning 3rd place, at the Cannabis Sustainability Symposium. Cody Hitchcock, our experienced horticulturist, spoke about sustainable practices. 

On our retail and administrative sides, we practice sustainability every day as well. We have many practices that reduce the amount of waste we produce. Some of these practices include dram, batteries, glass, and ink cartridge recycling. We reuse ziplock plastic bags until they are unusable then we recycle them. In our kitchens, we use reusable utensils instead of single-use plastic forks, spoons, and knives. We encourage our staff to bring reusable cups and think about recycling daily and provide them education on recycling best practices. 

We try to buy locally and support sustainable businesses here in Colorado. Our “doob tubes” are provided by Sana Packaging a Colorado-based company and are made using 100% plant-based hemp plastic, 100% reclaimed ocean plastic and other sustainable materials. We then encourage our guests to bring those containers back in for loyalty points on their rewards profiles. These containers are then treated and sterilized so they can be reused once again through a non-profit out of Boulder Colorado, Green for Green. 

Less than 10 percent of all waste produced by our operation ends up in a landfill, and we are working diligently to continue to reduce any landfill waste, to challenge ourselves to go above zero waste certification standards. We are Naturally Grown Cannabis Certified, through the Organic Grower's Society. 

We are making great strides in meeting our goals to live and breathe sustainability. As stewards of the cannabis industry, and our planet, we feel it is imperative to lead by example. We challenge others in the industry to consider making sustainable choices with their packaging, with efficiencies in order fulfillment, and by encouraging participation in sustainability events. We hope we have inspired you to also make the steps you can to have a positive impact on our environment and communities.