N. 1 November 2020

Being a reliable company on the market means being recognised by your suppliers and customers as a partner they can trust.

Mifar is constantly committed to the development of ethical and sustainable business practices to guarantee high quality products, while respecting the environment and protecting the health and safety of the community.

The products marketed by Mifar are made in compliance with the Italian and international regulations.

To provide effective and immediate support to its partners, Mifar created REGULATORY at a Glance. This quick reference tool contains useful indications and guidelines to help keep everyone updated on the regulations required for each market segment and on the standards applied to the different Mifar products.

COMPOSTABLE

Vademecum of the regulations applied to Mifar’s compostable products.

To be classified as compostable, products must be able to break down into organic matter, and must meet technical specifications and certain requirements defined in a series of European and international standards. These standards indicate the tests to be carried out and the threshold values that the products must achieve in order to distinguish compostable packaging or products in general from non-compostable ones.

EN 13432 – Biodegradability and biocompostability

This European standard specifies the requirements and procedures to determine the compostability and anaerobic treatability of packaging and packaging materials. It addresses the following four characteristics: 1) biodegradability; 2) disintegration during biological treatment; 3) effect on the biological treatment process; 4) effect on the quality of the resulting compost. In the case of packaging formed by different components, some of which are compostable and some others not, the packaging itself, as a whole is not compostable.

UNI EN 15411:2011 – Determination of heavy metals

This standard specifies three methods of digestion for solid recovered fuels: a) microwave assisted digestion with hydrofluoric, nitric and hydrochloric acid mixture; b) hot water bath digestion with hydrofluoric, nitric and hydrochloric acid mixture, after ashing of the solid recovered fuel; c) oven digestion with nitric, perchloric and hydrofluoric acid mixture.

UNI EN15408: 2011 Determination of sulphur (S), chlorine (Cl), fluorine (F) and bromine (Br) content

This standard describes the determination of sulphur (S), chlorine (CL), fluorine (F) and Bromine (Br) in solid recovered fuels of various origin and composition after combustion in oxygen atmosphere. This method is applicable for concentrations over 0.025 g/kg, depending on the element and the determination technique. In the case of fluorine, this method is applicable for concentrations over 0.015 g/kg.

UNI EN 13137: 2002 Characterisation of waste – Determination of total organic carbon in waste, sludges and sediments

This standard specifies two methods for the determination of total organic carbon (TOC) in undried waste samples containing more than 1 g of carbon per kg of dry matter (0.1%).  It can also be applied to sludges, sediments and comparable materials.

UNI EN ISO 14855-1:2013 Determination of the ultimate aerobic biodegradability of plastic materials under controlled composting conditions

This standard specifies a method for the determination of the ultimate aerobic biodegradability of plastics, based on organic compounds, under controlled composting conditions by measuring the amount of carbon dioxide evolved and the degree of disintegration of the plastic at the end of the test. This method is designed to simulate typical aerobic composting conditions for the organic fraction of solid mixed municipal waste. The test material is exposed to an inoculum which is derived from compost. The composting takes place in an environment wherein temperature, aeration and humidity are closely monitored and controlled. The test method is designed to yield the percentage conversion of the carbon in the test material to evolved carbon dioxide as well as the rate of conversion.

ISO 16929:2019 Determination of the degree of disintegration

This test method established in this document is also used to determine the influence of the test material on the composting process and the quality of the compost obtained. It cannot be used to determine the aerobic biodegradability of a test material.

The information herewith given is based on our present knowledge. Any conclusion and recommendation are made without liability on our part. Buyers and users are advised to make their own assessment under their own conditions and for their own requirements.