Urban Mining – Resource Conservation in the Anthropocene

Urban Mining has been on everyone’s lips for some years, being the quasi-mining of raw materials in urban areas both in cities and communities. Urban Mining requires more and better guidelines and a far-sighted strategy for material flow management. A management concept including a prospective knowledge and decision base for the secondary raw material industry and for local governments is needed. Through this brochure, the German Environment Agency wishes to convey a common understanding of Urban Mining and to encourage its steady progress by using this strategic approach.