Landfill mining – option or fiction?

Urban mining - the extraction of secondary raw materials from the technosphere, i.e. from old buildings, derelict infrastructure and movable goods such as old electronic products, end-of-life vehicles, etc. - is increasingly being recognised as an important contribution to the conservation of natural resources and is being promoted accordingly. In this context, especially in Central Europe (Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Benelux countries), landfills and dumps have also come into focus as potential sources of secondary raw materials. Landfill mining has become the catchy catchphrase for this. With funding from the Stiftung Zukunftserbe (Future Heritage Foundation), the Öko-Institut has taken on this new topic, organised a specialist workshop with selected experts from science, politics and administration and carried out its own research into landfill mining. The aim of the study is to highlight current discussions and developments on the topic of landfill mining and its possible potential, to look at the legal, technical and economic framework conditions and to compare the possible potential of landfill mining with other secondary raw material potentials. The history of waste disposal in Germany will also be analysed in greater depth.