Setting the standard by which all others shall soon follow takes vision and fortitude.  The constant battles with naysayers can wear one down; however armed with the knowledge that your persistence and determination to do the right thing will carry through.  Well the battle has been won and we are the victors.  And we are already rewriting history.  Welcome to the one of the Greenest Natural Stone Fabricators in The World: Planet Granite of Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA.  

2011 has brought numerous positive changes to our door, and they are still coming.  After nearly a year of research, we have found a viable path forward in recycling all of our stone waste to be used as road base.  No longer does our stone waste go to the landfill, a cost savings on our waste bill, but now to a local asphalt company to be crushed down as aggregate in their road base, gaining positive LEED points.  Plus the granite’s absorption rates are quite low, so less petroleum is required in the mix.  This is a win-win for both industries. 

Our new water recycling system is a 100% closed loop with zero discharge, and recycling 100% of our fabrication water.  No industrial discharge permitting is required.  Nothing is going down the drain, out the back door, or into a septic system.  This saves time and money by allowing Planet Granite to legally by-pass discharge permitting and red tape at the federal, state, and local levels.  And it eliminates water and sewer charges and any ongoing yearly permitting and periodic testing fees for discharging our industrial waste water.  Plus we are in compliance with the Clean Water Act.  The inorganic waste, a by product of this process, is easily disposed of with our other recycled granite waste to be used as road base, as it poses no hazard. 

So, not only is Planet Granite recycling it’s natural stone waste, we are recycling 100% of our shop water, but also of course we have been recycling all paper and cardboard generated through normal office activities.  Plus with our new software we are able to reduce the amount of paper generated in the first place.  Every department is able to communicate on-line, instead of creating a bulky paper trail, throughout the process of fabricating numerous custom kitchens on a daily basis.  Doing the right thing solidifies a positive position as a leader in the industry and the community as a whole.  This is The Green Standard.

Planet Granite has found a viable path forward in reducing our various waste streams.  Anywhere from 50% to 80% of our waste is granite, and until recently was all being thrown out, just to end up in a landfill.  Last year we contacted several asphalt companies in our area, figuring that ideally some one could use the granite as filler in their asphalt.  Only one responded positively.  Their QC Supervisor came down to our shop and took three five-gallon buckets full of left over granite, marble, and travertine.  They ran some tests on it, and the results were not that great, but not that bad either.  And that was that.  Now, just into the new-year, they contacted us.  Sure enough, the asphalt company’s upper management was starting to look for ways to promote their “Green Stewardship,” and the QC guy remembered how we had contacted him on this issue last year.  We have now struck up a partnership.  Now we have a separate waste container for us to deposit just our left over granite, marble, travertine, limestone, and “Manite” (Quartz products).  We have still have a separate container for our “regular” trash, unfortunately still destined for the landfill at this point.  (We are still working on that issue, but one at a time, right?)  So the asphalt company will store the stone for about a year, and then when their stock pile is large enough, they will crush the stone to be used as recycled content in their asphalt.  They said that the granite is not too absorbent, so that will be able to reduce the amount of petroleum, oil, that will be needed to produce that asphalt, so that from their perspective, this is a win-win situation.  Plus, this recycled content will be able to gain LEED credits.  Planet Granite is now recycling 100% of our stone waste stream, and now this asphalt company is able to offer recycled asphalt as an option to their client’s.  Do the right thing, Go Green!

As a natural product, Granite is inherently earth-friendly. Natural stone offers many attractive, environmentally friendly attributes, including an enduring life-cycle, durability, ease of care and maintenance, recyclability, and quarry and manufacturing best practices.

Conserving resources, preventing pollution, and minimizing waste are some ways the stone industry is working to be ecofriendly through green building.

-Natural Stone Council, 2008

Decommissioned traffic lights, windshields, used bottles and plate glass windows transformed into an exquisite work of art that is the centerpiece of your living, working or playing spaces. Recycled glass surfaces give you an alternative to using non-renewable resources, and provides a new market for recycled glass, including glass that cannot be recycled elsewhere.

•100% of the glass is recycled
•Made in the U.S.
•All material is from the U.S.