The mayor of Granada and president of the Board of Directors of Mercagranada, Marifrán Carazo, stated this Saturday that the company MercaGranada is positioned as a «national benchmark» in waste separation by successfully classifying 80% of discarded products in 2024, placing it «well above» the national average and also being a reference within the Mercas Network of the state-owned company Mercasa, with data confirming its «strong commitment to sustainability and environmental respect».
According to the City Council in a statement, Granada thus achieves «a new milestone» in implementing the circular economy. Of the 80% of products classified by MercaGranada for subsequent recycling, 38.69% come from organic matter of fruits and vegetables, 16.02% from fish waste, while recycled cardboard represents 11.76% of the total, wood 7.53%, and plastic 4.5%.
These are, in the mayor’s words, «exceptional data», as MercaGranada’s waste separation rate «sets a benchmark among the 24 food units that make up the Mercas Network of Mercasa throughout Spain». Furthermore, it has sustainability as «one of the main objectives» in its strategic plan, and is «well above» the national average for waste separation, which in 2022 –Source INE 2022– was 24.08%, and exceeds by more than six times the percentage of Andalusia, «which barely reaches 13.12%».
With the horizon set for 2025, in compliance with the Waste and Contaminated Soil Law (Law 22/2011), for the progressive reduction of waste and its separation for recycling, and with European Directive 2008/98/EC, which establishes objectives for reducing and recycling urban waste above 55% for that year, the City Council of Granada has announced measures aimed at reducing CO2 emissions into the atmosphere.
Therefore, the City Council highlighted that, thanks to the separation model, MercaGranada has reduced its trips to landfills from 122 in 2010 to 39 in 2024, with a reduction of 5.33 tons of CO2, equivalent to 22,197 km not traveled by garbage trucks.
According to MercaGranada’s report, the total CO2 savings from waste separation since 2010 amount to 13,773.64 tons, «an impact equivalent to the absorption of 626,075 trees in one year or the removal of 2,994 cars from circulation for twelve months».
For Carazo, «this achievement is the result of the responsibility of a company with social economy that has been based on three fundamental pillars: investment in technology, through the implementation of advanced infrastructures for recycling, awareness of operators and companies through educational and awareness programs, and measures that promote the circular economy».
«MercaGranada demonstrates that efficient waste management is key to sustainability, not only complying with current regulations, but also generating environmental, economic, and social benefits,» emphasized the mayor.
Finally, the mayor of Granada highlighted that their model «is an example for other food units and regions, contributing to a greener and more sustainable future», also emphasizing that MercaGranada, with 51.29% owned by the City Council of Granada and 48.71% by Mercasa, is part of the Mercas Network, the largest public network of wholesale markets for fresh products in the world, supplying more than 30 million people and «is a fundamental link in the agri-food value chain».