Company

Recycling – it's the future

Due to rapidly rising quantities of plastics and a growing number of different types of plastic, skilled professional recycling – in combination with waste avoidance – is crucial if we are to protect our environment and our future.

This is why, together with our national and international partners, we are constantly searching for innovative ways of recycling plastics and plastic wastes. Asia in particular, with its rapidly growing markets, poses a massive challenge.

In order to build a close and lasting partnership based on mutual trust with far-eastern countries, we founded GFR Gesellschaft für Recycling mbH in Hamburg in 1993, together with Steve Wong, now a co-partner of the company.

As the range of tasks and new challenges grew, so too did GFR. In 2006 we bought a 20,000 m² undeveloped plot in Henstedt-Ulzburg, to the north of Hamburg. This allowed us to plan our new plant in line with our own specific needs, and following the surprisingly smooth construction phase, we were able to move into our new premises in November 2007. In addition to the new offices and spacious warehouse facilities, our very own scales, a baler, a fleet of fork lift trucks plus many other useful items have enabled us to achieve our goals in terms of quality assurance even better than before.

Accredited waste management company

Since December 2003 we have held the title of an officially accredited waste management company, as awarded by bvse Entsorgergemeinschaft e.V. This certification affirms the excellent quality of our operational procedures and their documentation, which of course also includes thorough monitoring of the plastics we handle. The certificate relates to our handling, brokering, storage and treatment of the respective plastics. And it goes without saying that all of our plastics are recyclable.

Since July 2007 we have also be certified in accordance with DIN EN ISO 9001:2000 Quality Management. And it's a matter of course that we also audit our suppliers by inspecting their premises and by other measures.

Our activities in the markets of Asia have also seen us awarded AQSIQ accreditation in January 2008. The Chinese market in particular, with its staggering growth rates, calls for innovative ecological measures for recycling plastics.

To intensify cooperation with out Asian partners and to be in a position to guarantee our standards in the Far East, too, we commission inspectors from the German Technical Inspection Agency (TÜV) to examine and report on our partners. In particular, they pay special attention to ensuring that our partners' systems reprocess the plastics in a resource- and environment-friendly manner.