MRW supports environmental protection: biodegradable and compostable bags.
MRW Franchises transport over 11 million bags every year that, despite being recycled, generate a relevant environmental cost. From now on, this cost is to be reduced because, as of April 2010, MRW is to promote a campaign to replace the tradition polyethylene bags with biodegradable, compostable bags that can be disposed of directly in brown organic matter bins. The new bags are in line with the European Standard EN 13432, the only regulation to currently certify their composition and to guarantee their zero environmental impact.
This measure, which makes MRW the first company in the sector to use biodegradable and compostable bags, is part of the company's decided support for the environment. The initiative, promoted by the MRW Social Responsibility Group, is a clear example of how the company makes decisions and creates products and services with not just the present in mind but also future generations.
The new bag is produced using a film of a material known as degradable biopolymer. This film is a blend of corn starch and different vegetable and organic components. Once used and if certain ideal environmental conditions are met, the bag degrades, i.e. it disappears, within a period of six months. After this time, all that is left is carbon dioxide and water, which joins the natural cycle without any environmental impact.
The new bag, which is in line with all of the quality certificate with which MRW works, is to be implemented progressively in all Group Franchises. Hence, the two models of bags used by the company will coexist over several months - the blue polyethylene bags and the green bio-bags. They are handled and kept in the same manner as the traditional bags, in dry places without too much exposure to the sun, high temperatures or humidity.
Alongside the launch of the bio-bag, MRW Franchises are to become the collection point for all used polyethylene bags. The bags will be centralised in a single point for easier collection by a special employment centre that will be responsible for their recycling.
