The residue is then combined with utility ash and used as cement replacement or in highway embankment construction. With over 4 million tons of industrial by-products available on a yearly basis in our state, it s also becoming harder to justify not reclaiming and reusing these valuable resources. This is especially true if the alternative is filling up landfills faster. Everyone generators, users and society wins when we find beneficial ways to reuse by-products. Foundry sands are already being reclaimed and reused many times internally by foundries.
Research continues to discover new uses for by-products.
Fly ash is being used on an experimental basis to produce lighter and stronger aluminum castings for the automotive industry. Studies have shown that 10 percent bottom ash added to topsoil mixtures improves porosity, increases seed germination rates, and improves plant yield for a variety of crops. The future will see by-products added to paints, epoxies, ceramics, metals and more. We can even reclaim by-products that were previously regarded as waste. In a pilot project at Wisconsin Electric s Pleasant Prairie power plant, landfilled coal ash is being recovered to supplement the supply of sand and gravel.