Is the metal casting industry environmentally responsible?

The metal casting industry is the "original recycler." Rather than use new or "virgin" materials as melt stock, nearly all foundries reuse scrap metals as their primary melting material. Annually, foundries consume 15-20 million tons of recycled scrap metal, giving new life to products that would otherwise go to landfills.

In addition to reusing metal scrap, foundries also use and reuse 100 million tons of sand annually. Sand used to make molds and cores is continuously reused until it loses its properties that are necessary for high quality molds and cores. Only 6% of this sand can longer be used in the foundry process and becomes available for reuse.

In fact, the metal casting industry has been an innovator in beneficially reusing spent core and molding sand. After removing binders and other materials from the sand, it is then made available for the manufacture of bricks, concrete and as construction backfill.

** Information Courtesy of the American Foundry Society. www.afsinc.org