Waupaca Foundry Sustainability Commitment
Achieved Foundry Sand Target
Eco-Park Created with Foundry Sand
Thousands of tons of foundry sand that could no longer be reconditioned and reused to make molds avoided the landfill and was instead put to good use. That sand is now benefitting the community of Waupaca, Wisconsin through a unique development project.
The Waupaca Eco-Park, near neighboring subdivision, Eastgate Estates, was developed using thousands of tons of donated foundry sand. The initiative was spearheaded by CAP Services.
The Eco-Park offers the regional community a unique experience in environmental sustainability education and recreation and includes an environmental education center created by Waupaca Foundry. It features an interactive display that demonstrates how recycled metal and raw materials become iron castings. Visitors drop metal into a mini-cupola and watch as it comes out as simulated molten metal entering a molding machine to produce a finished object.
The park is on property owned by the City of Waupaca, Wisconsin and also includes:
- an open-air shelter
- a 250-seat amphitheater
- natural children’s playground
These facilities were all built from locally sourced, natural materials. It is a place for both play and learning, supporting educational field trips and everyday fun. It serves as an exceptional resource for district schools to use as an outdoor classroom for science and environmental study. To create the Eco-Park, no public funds were used. Instead, funding was secured along with in-kind donations totaling more than $200,000.
