NJDOH Regulations
Regulations will be proposed by the newly created Cannabis Regulatory Commission, which will operate independently of the New Jersey Department of Health (NJDOH has been the state regulatory agency overseeing the New Jersey medical marijuana program) once its five members are seated.
Fortunately, other states with more mature marijuana programs have been grappling with the waste disposal issue with the nascent industry. Presumably, similar to other highly regulated industries operating in New Jersey, proposed regulations for the marijuana industry will provide specific requirements and best practices for marijuana waste disposal.
Thus far, the only released publication from New Jersey regulators to the industry with regard to marijuana waste disposal was referenced in the NJDOH’s April 2019 rule adoption notice. In that rule adoption, the NJDOH responded to a comment that it “should allow [ATCs] to dispose of waste plant material by … means [other than] incineration [such as] composting, shredding[,] and mixing with soil to render unusable or allowing [a third-party] waste disposal company to take the waste.”
The NJDOH responded to this comment by saying that it issued guidance to the then ATCs in August 2018 providing that ATCs can shred and mix waste material to render it unusable and then dispose of it as solid waste. In obtaining a copy of this NJDOH “guidance” (which is actually dated October 2, 2018] (hereinafter referred to as the “Guidance Letter”) issued to “All New Jersey Licensed Alternative Treatment Centers (ATCs),” the NJDOH noted that it consulted with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) on this topic.