LEONHARD KURZ and Greenling join forces to create sustainable mini-gardens for the city

Fürth/Germany, March 7, 2023: Living in the (big) city and enjoying green, nature-oriented surroundings do not have to be mutually exclusive, as the Munich-based start-up Greenling demonstrates. Founder and CEO Johanna Leisch, co-managing director Megan Douglas, and their team are pursuing the goal of giving city dwellers little moments of nature every day with their mini-garden that fits perfectly on the balcony or terrace. The practical system consists of a planter with an integrated water tank and several inner pots. The experienced Greenling gardeners equip the mini-gardens with regionally and sustainably grown plants of the customer’s choice – from weatherproof ornamental plants and herbs to seasonal fruits and vegetables, such as strawberries or chilies. The Greenling concept enables everyone to enjoy growing plants, even if they don’t have green fingers.

Sustainability all along the line

Greenling is now adding a particularly sustainable product to its range: The new Greenling Kobold with three inner pots is made from the post-industrial recycling compound RECOPOUND^®. LEONHARD KURZ produces the recycled material from PET transfer carrier residues from the graphic industry.

“Environmental protection is a particularly high priority for us, and we aim to make every aspect of our projects as sustainable as possible,” explains Greenling founder and CEO Johanna Leisch. “This starts with the careful selection of our plants from regional nurseries and is a recurring theme during all processes, up to and including the production of our Greenling planters. We have always made these from durable, recyclable plastic. Still, we had been looking for an alternative for the next generation of products for some time, one that would bring us one step closer to the Circular Economy and enable us to produce our Greenling planters in an even more resource-friendly way. With RECOPOUND^®, we have now found the right solution. We are also pleased to have LEONHARD KURZ, a very experienced partner in the field of sustainability, at our side.”

Closing the circle of production

Surface finishing expert LEONHARD KURZ is the world’s first company in the plastics industry to develop a take-back and recycling system for surplus transfer materials, such as those produced in the decoration of packaging: KURZ RECOSYS®. The resulting material RECOPOUND^® is ideally suited for manufacturing robust products with stable mechanical properties using injection molding. RECOPOUND^® can be decorated to a high standard, for example, with hot stamping. It also saves up to 40 percent CO₂ compared to virgin material.

“Our ambition is to make our products and technologies as sustainable as possible while also helping our customers and partners improve their ecological footprint – according to our motto ‘Be a green leader,’” explains Johannes Romming, Project Manager Innovation & Sustainability at LEONHARD KURZ, and continues, “We are also pleased that through our cooperation with Greenling, we can now put RECOPOUND^® to a beautiful and sustainable use and help make cities a little greener.”

The new Greenling planter with three pots is available for pre-order now at www.greenling.de, and shipping starts in April. Thanks to its compact dimensions of 500 x 240 x 200 mm, the planter can be used in a variety of ways, both outdoors and indoors: It not only fits on any balcony but can also be installed on a window sill or the facade of buildings, or hung indoors as a room-dividing element.