Just curious. I’m not sure what the mix of materials is in most landfills, but is there a point in the not too distant future where it would be more economical to mine our existing landfill trash for raw materials vs digging metals out of the ground or making plastics out of oil?
I think that point is not too far away, especially in the developing world.
We’ve finally developed technology that lets municipal garbage company sort mixed recyclables and that was always a significant barrier to mining past landfills. As long as the economy remains depressed, we’ll probably see metal prices too low to support major recycling, but I think within ten or twenty years, it will start to become feasible.
That said, there’s a major problem: many of the old landfills have been capped and have golf courses or housing developments built over the top. If you have to buy out the existing owners before doing the recycling, the cost goes way up.
Another problem is that recyclers might become responsible for toxic cleanup, since landfills contain lead, mercury, cadmium, radioactive metals and various toxic organics (even everyday engine oil and paint thinner that were improperly disposed of). That also adds to the cost of the recycling program.
One of the most valuable things in a modern landfill is the dirt! Since EPA requires that everything gets covered up in a day, they go thru a lot of dirt.
Some landfills in the NE are digging up old sections for the dirt. Say you got an area that’s 20 layers thick. You dig it all out, use some of the dirt to bury those old 20 layers with a single top layer of dirt, use the rest to cover the new garbage. Cheaper than hauling in fresh dirt.
This is already happening in parts of the US.
However, it’s not as if the basic resources are somehow running out. We can easily produce enough plastics and metals, though prices change over time (but historically have trended strongly downward over time). Garbage is simply convenient because it’s right here and often pre-processed.
It’s been going on for quite a while:
Mumbai Rag pickers
http://communityorganizationsinternational.org/index.php/india/51-work-among-ragpickers-in-india