Hey — Harald here.

Everywhere I go, people ask: “Where will we get the materials for our green transition?”
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Most look to distant mines.

I (also) look at our cities.

🔮 My aha moment

When I stood in Amsterdam just recently and yesterday in Oslo, looking at façades and pipes, i felt it (again): we’re standing on top of tomorrow’s mines. Especially in times when resources will be more constraint and supply chains are more vulnerable.

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🪨 Urban mining : What it really is?

Urban mining sees cities as resource banks, not waste dumps. Instead of digging mountains, we “mine” our anthropogenic stock:

• In-use materials — products & infrastructure still serving us.
• End-of-life materials — products we discard daily.
• Historical deposits — the mountains of old landfills and legacy waste.

By 2025, experts project urban mining will recover 50 million metric tons of metals annually. That can cut virgin extraction by about 15%.

Copper alone: Over 500 million tons already sit above ground. Let's get that. It equals to 20 years of current mining output.

And 1 ton of smartphones contains 100–300g of gold! One piece of research estimates that there are around 7 million unused phones in Switzerland alone, with $10 million worth of embedded gold in them.

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🧨 Why it matters now

Five big reasons:

1. Resource Security 🔒
   The EU imports 98% of its rare earths. The U.S. imports 80%. Urban mining localises supply, buffers price shocks, and reduces dependency on unstable regions.
2. Economic Opportunity 💰
   The European Commission estimates robust urban mining could create 30,000+ new jobs and cut raw material import dependency by 20% by 2030.
3. Carbon & Water Savings 🌍💧
   Secondary aluminium uses 95% less energy. Secondary copper emits 1.5 tonnes CO₂ per tonne vs 4.5 for primary production — a 67% cut. Water use down 40-80%.
4. High Value, High Concentration 📱
   One tonne of circuit boards = up to 800g gold, 10kg silver, 300kg copper, plus palladium, platinum, rare earths. Advanced processes now achieve 98% recovery.
5. Perfect Timing with Urban Renewal 🏗
   Cities everywhere are retrofitting infrastructure, replacing heating systems, renovating buildings. Every project is a chance to “mine” in place rather than landfill.

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🌍 Some inspiring examples

Good urban mining examples include the Paris 2024 Olympic Village Project. ​

Also in Brussels, the Befimmo ZIN project is reusing building components from existing structures.

​Materialenbank Leuven (Belgium): Salvaging bricks, steel, roof tiles, window frames from buildings slated for demolition.It’s city-run, systematic urban mining creating local supply for local projects.

​Urban Ore – Berkeley (USA): A materials exchange for building materials, appliances, fixtures. It has been a long-standing “urban mine” serving local builders.

​Stockholm Biochar Project (SE): It turns park waste into biochar & energy for 100,000 residents. A city literally mining its green waste for carbon storage & soil health.

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Please share the interesting ones you come across!

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🧭 How you can take first concrete steps

Here’s how you can start a.s.a.p. if you want to transform your city:

1. Map Your “Above-Ground Mine”
   • Commission a material inventory: copper, steel, aluminium, concrete in buildings, infrastructure, landfills.
   • Identify “hot spots”, f.ex. around aging districts, demolition pipelines, big infrastructure upgrades.
2. Design new permits for deconstruction & recovery
   • Require material yield statements in demolition plans.
   • Incentivise modular joints, bolted connections, standardised parts in new builds.
   • Fast-track permits or give tax breaks for projects that preserve recoverable materials.
3. Pilot a circular reuse hub
   • Establish a municipal “materials bank” or partner with local reuse entrepreneurs.
   • Start with one building or infrastructure project, recover its materials, and showcase the impact.

These steps turn your city into a living case study.

But it won’t happen by accident.

It needs your leadership.

Count me in.

To reclaiming the city as a resource,

Stay safe,
Harald

Where to find me and others:

23 October 2025: Camacol Summit, Barranquilla/Colombia

10-20 November 2025: COP 30, Belem/Brazil

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