Old water meters for a good cause

28.01.2026

Zwei Frauen links und zwei Männer rechts, die einen Spendenscheck halten. — Eva Weidenfeld, Koordinatorin eines Projekts des Freiwilligenzentrums (ganz links), und Geschäftsführerin Katharina Traoré nahmen den symbolischen Spendenscheck entgegen, den SWG-Unternehmenssprecher Ulli Boos (ganz rechts) und Marco Krause aus der Abteilung Metering-Services bei den SWG vorbeibrachten.

SWG has old water meters made fit for further use for a small fee. The money received is donated to a social project.

Stadtwerke Gießen has to replace around 5,000 water meters every year. The reason: this ensures that the legally prescribed calibration period is guaranteed. However, this also means that the old meter has to be removed and a new measuring device installed each time it is replaced. This results in a lot of scrap metal. Although this could be recycled, Stadtwerke Gießen (SWG) is taking a different, even more sustainable approach with the old meters.

And it also benefits a good cause. "The old meters can actually be refurbished and then reinstalled as fully-fledged measuring devices," says Marco Krause from SWG's metering and measurement department. This gives the water meters a second life. And they don't have to be disposed of and the brass recycled at great expense - a real win-win situation with a sustainable core.

Replacement with added value
To enable the old meters to be refurbished, SWG hands them over to a regional partner for a small fee. The process is very simple: the old meters are collected in the yard in Lahnstraße until a certain quantity is reached for which the transport is worthwhile: "During the last regular replacements, meters worth the equivalent of around 12,000 euros were collected in total," says Marco Krause.

However, the money does not simply go into the company's coffers, but is donated to a good cause - specifically the volunteer centre for the city and district of Giessen e.V. "We are delighted with the generous donation. We see our responsibility not only in terms of social sustainability, but can also use the money to expand the ecological volunteering centres in the voluntary service of all generations. This puts us in a position to support and help shape projects in the areas of sustainability and climate protection. And last but not least, to invest in the environment ourselves," says Katharina Traoré, Managing Director of the volunteer centre, expressing her thanks. The organisation is committed to supporting associations, structures and initiatives that are geared towards the common good. This includes the placement of volunteers, counselling, networking and also concrete support in the implementation of projects. Further information can be found on the website at www.freiwilligenzentrum-giessen.de.

Potential for even more commitment
In fact, there is even more potential in the regular meter changes: both for sustainability and for social issues. In addition to water meters, measuring devices for other types of energy also need to be replaced regularly. In total, around 20,000 old meters are replaced every year. "In the future, we also want to find a comparable solution for these old meters and donate the proceeds to other regional projects," says Marco Krause.