Section 1000.460  Waste Disposal

a)         Cannabis Waste.  Cannabis waste must be stored, secured, locked and managed in accordance with State regulations and as submitted and approved in the cultivation center's Operations and Management Practices Plan.

b)         Liquid Waste. Liquid waste from a cultivation center shall be disposed of in compliance with the Illinois Environmental Protection Act and 35 Ill. Adm. Code.

c)         Hazardous Waste. Disposal of hazardous and chemical waste must be conducted in a manner consistent with federal, State and local laws.

d)         Cannabis waste must be rendered unusable following the methods set forth in this Section prior to leaving a cultivation center. Disposal of the cannabis waste rendered unusable must follow the methods in this Section.

e)         A cultivation center must provide the Department and ISP, through the traceability system (see Section 1000.400), a minimum of seven days' notice prior to rendering the product unusable and disposing of the product.

f)         The allowable method to render cannabis plant waste unusable is by grinding and incorporating the cannabis plant waste with other ground materials so the resulting mixture is at least 50% non-cannabis waste by volume. Other methods to render cannabis waste unusable must be approved by the Department before implementation.  Material used to grind with the cannabis falls into two categories:  compostable waste and noncompostable waste.

1)         Compostable Mixed Waste: Cannabis waste to be disposed of as compost, feedstock or in another organic waste method (e.g., anaerobic digester) may be mixed with the following types of waste materials:

A)        Food waste;

B)        Yard waste;

C)        Vegetable based grease or oils; or

D)        Other wastes approved by the Department (e.g., agricultural material, biodegradable products and paper, clean wood, fruits and vegetables, plant matter).

2)         Noncompostable Mixed Waste: Cannabis waste to be disposed of in a landfill or another disposal method (e.g., incinerator) may be mixed with the following types of waste materials:

A)        Paper waste;

B)        Cardboard waste;

C)        Plastic waste;

D)        Soil; or

E)        Other wastes approved by the Department (e.g., nonrecyclable plastic, broken glass, leather).

g)         Cannabis waste rendered unusable following the methods described in this Section may be disposed of in the manner provided in this subsection (g). Disposal of the cannabis waste rendered unusable may be delivered to a permitted solid waste facility for final disposition. Examples of acceptable permitted solid waste facilities include:

1)         Compostable Mixed Waste: Compost, anaerobic digester, or other facility with approval of the jurisdictional health department.

2)         Noncompostable Mixed Waste: Landfill, incinerator, or other facility with approval of the jurisdictional health department.

h)         All waste and unusable product shall be weighed, recorded and entered into the inventory system prior to mixing and disposal. Verification of this event shall be performed by a supervisor and conducted in an area with video surveillance.

i)          Any nutrient enriched grow media shall be disposed of as required by the Illinois Environmental Protection Act and the associated rules, or land applied at agronomic rates.