Foundry Industry Recycling Starts Today (“FIRST”)

What is FIRST?

• An Industry Consortium
• Focused on Market Development
• Sustainable Options
• Recycling/Beneficial Use of Foundry Industry Byproducts

Why is FIRST Needed?

• Market development must be done on a national scale to avoid constantly “reinventing wheels”
• Foundry byproducts need to be viewed as raw materials for other industries
• State regulatory barriers may differ but other market barriers are technical, economic and educational
• Economic impact for foundries more than $250 million annually

Market Development Issues

• Establish Recycled Foundry Sand (RFS) as a PRODUCT in target markets
  
• Overcome barriers to recycling: Four E’s
  
  • Environmental
  • Engineering
  • Economics
  • Education

FIRST’s Mission Statement

• Be the primary educational and technical resource promoting recycling and reuse of foundry byproducts in an environmentally and economically sustainable manner
• Leverage investments by AFS, individual companies, and state associations and agencies into a national infrastructure encouraging byproduct reuse and recycling

FIRST's Goals

• Create a Centralized Electronic Technical Database and Library
• Develop Technology Transfer Partnerships with National Public and Private Sector Agencies and Associations 
• Publicize Examples of Effective Byproduct Reuse Strategies, Highlighting Technical, Economic and Implementation Data
• Establish National Technical Specifications and Performance Standards