170 Reasons to Go Green!

A robot arm securely transports a freshly produced tank onto the conveyor belt. The material is still warm. After all, plastic must be heated to be shaped. With an expert precision, an employee in the production hall at our Teninger site removes excess material and places the rain barrel on a pallet. Outside, two trucks have arrived to fill the cylindrical, house-high silos with recycled materials. These recycled materials were previously extracted from household waste at our GRAF Competence Centre for Raw Materials in Herbolzheim – the raw material that makes our products, which are now being prepared for transport, so special... Products such as this Slim rainwater tank are now also labelled – they are part of the Green Planet collection. ‘What makes them special is that they are doubly sustainable,’ explains Andreas Steigert. Doubly sustainable? "Firstly, because they are made from 100 % recycled materials. Secondly, because the environmentally friendly products in the GRAF Green Planet collection, in the form of rain barrels, underground tanks and infiltration modules, make a positive contribution to protecting the environment and maintaining the groundwater level," says our marketing manager, who developed the label with his team to achieve even greater customer-friendly transparency.

The more than 170 products in the Green Planet collection come from the product ranges of three of our GRAF brands: Garantia, 4Rain and GRAF itself. The collection was launched at the beginning of 2023.

‘From classic rain barrels to civil engineering products, the product line covers a wide range of applications,’ reports Steigert. And don't forget: ‘Every barrel helps because it retains rainwater.’ This means that the water does not disappear into the sewage system but remains in the natural water cycle, ultimately contributing to groundwater recharge. ‘What's more, the barrels in the Green Planet collection can also be recycled at the end of their long life cycle,’ says the marketing expert. The collection is not a specifically redesigned product range. ‘Rather, we are pursuing the goal of placing even greater focus on the particularly sustainable products of our brands,’ explains Steigert, pointing to the circular logo of the Green Planet collection, which customers can find in stores.

The Green Planet collection has received nothing but positive feedback from customers so far. ‘It is very important for retailers to have sustainable products in their range, because customers look closely at what they buy,’ says the expert. He explains that it makes a big difference whether products come from overseas or, like ours, from Germany. The products in the Green Planet collection are also already well received abroad. The Carat S tank with its half-shell system has become an export hit. ‘Because the tank, which consists of half-shells, can only be assembled on site, eight times the volume fits into a container. This means we are also competitive in distant markets,’ explains Andreas Steigert.

However, producing 100% sustainably also requires in-depth expertise. The heart of the Green Planet collection is located in Herbolzheim: our GRAF Competence Centre for Raw Materials. ‘Here, in a process developed in-house, we turn short-lived plastic waste such as yoghurt pots and milk cartons into recycled materials, which are then used to manufacture durable, environmentally friendly products at our production sites in Teningen, Dachstein, Neuried and Herbolzheim,’ explains Steigert, emphasising that expertise in recycling is always the foundation. Whether it's the Lanzarote rain barrel, the Ergo raised bed or the Carat S tank – the products in the Green Planet collection meet demanding criteria. This also applies to the EcoBloc Smart infiltration module. ‘To date, there is no other manufacturer that can produce a product with such static requirements from recycled materials,’ says Steigert proudly.