Client Spotlight: NatureMed
NatureMed is a cannabis dispensary dedicated to making cannabis easy, accessible, and enjoyable for everyone. With 5 locations across Missouri, the company has built its approach around education and helping customers feel more confident in their choices. Monarch Waste Co. is proud to work with NatureMed to make responsible cannabis waste disposal more accessible to its customers.
A More Approachable Cannabis Experience
In 2021, NatureMed began in Tucson, Arizona, and has since expanded to Missouri, serving medical and recreational customers. They offer a curated selection of flower, concentrates, edibles, and more, with everything selected with intention.
A dispensary visit doesn’t have to be quick and transactional. NatureMed creates a more approachable experience, giving customers space to explore their options and ask questions.
Guidance From Knowledgeable Budtenders
Customers are welcomed by NatureMed’s budtenders. They help explain products clearly and help people find products that support their personal goals, whether that’s relaxation, energy, focus, or relief from discomfort.
Budtenders have access to multiple educational platforms covering products, brands, and cannabis science. They regularly participate in courses that cover advanced topics and emerging trends. This continued education helps budtenders give customers the information they need to make informed choices.
A Shared Commitment to Responsible Vape Disposal
NatureMed has also taken an active role in addressing a growing challenge in the cannabis industry: what consumers should do with all-in-one (AIO) vape pens once they are no longer in use. These devices contain lithium-ion batteries that require proper handling and can’t be tossed in standard trash or recycling streams for the following reasons.
Fire Risk: When tossed in household garbage or recycling bins, these batteries can spark fires during transport or at landfills and recyclers.
Environmental Harm: Discarding Li-ion batteries in landfills can lead to soil, water, and air contamination, particularly if they are cracked or damaged.
Lost Resources: Discarding them wastes valuable materials like cobalt, copper, lithium, and nickel. Recycling recovers these resources and reduces the energy needed to make new batteries.
To provide customers with a compliant solution, NatureMed became one of the first dispensaries to join Monarch Waste Co.’s Disposable Vape Pen Takeback Program, underwritten by Cúrador.
Through the program, Monarch installed collection kiosks at each of NatureMed’s Missouri locations, where consumers can drop off their used AIO vape pens. Monarch handles the pickups and recycles lithium-ion batteries with local certified R-2 recyclers. As a result, dispensaries can stay focused on their daily operations while keeping their community safer.
Contribute to a Better Future
To date, Monarch Waste Co. has recovered and processed over 176,000 lithium-ion batteries through its recycling operations. This number will steadily increase with your help.
Dispensaries can join the program and have their kiosk installed, and consumers can visit a location to drop off their vape pens. Together, we’ll reduce waste across Missouri’s cannabis industry and contribute to a clean, safe environment.