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Why Isn't Landfill Mining More Popular?

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Re: Why Isn't Landfill Mining More Popular?

#11

Post by SoftTalker »

gosub100 wrote: post #7

I've wondered why they haven't implemented a compromise between recycling and tossing, which would just be segregating certain materials for later sale or recycling. If they put all the plastic bottles in one section of landfill, all the glass, etc it would be a bet toward there someday being a change in technology, materials science, or market prices that might make it worth mining. It would also be cheaper because…

You should visit the average landfill to get a firsthand impression of the sheer volume of trash that arrives every day. Sorting at that point would require a huge investment in infrastructure and technology on-site. Individuals sorting their own trash at the other end of the stream is quite easy and costs only a few minutes of their time.

It's like diverting the flow of a tributary stream vs. diverting the Mississippi River.

Re: Why Isn't Landfill Mining More Popular?

#12

Post by WirelessGigabit »

bradley13 wrote: post #9

Some years ago, Switzerland completely stopped using landfills. All garbage is incinerated. The resulting slag is then processed to reclaim nearly all metals as well as some other important elements. Of course, the burning creates CO2. However, you don't have to mine and refine metal ores, and the incinerators also generate electricity and district heating. So the ecological balance is actually pretty good. As a fina…

The US has way too much space for incineration to become more cost-effective than just dumping it in a giant hole in the ground.

Re: Why Isn't Landfill Mining More Popular?

#14

Post by kulahan »

bradley13 wrote: post #9

Some years ago, Switzerland completely stopped using landfills. All garbage is incinerated. The resulting slag is then processed to reclaim nearly all metals as well as some other important elements. Of course, the burning creates CO2. However, you don't have to mine and refine metal ores, and the incinerators also generate electricity and district heating. So the ecological balance is actually pretty good. As a fina…

The technology of landfills has massively improved over the years. It's not the old pile of garbage covered in birds forever; they turn them into parks and whatnot. It's probably worth looking up, because there's some cool scientific advancements behind it.

I'm pulling this next sentence completely out of my ass, but I also imagine it would be convenient, once we develop bacteria to break this stuff down in an environmentally friendly way, to just pour it over these contained blocks of waste.

Re: Why Isn't Landfill Mining More Popular?

#16

Post by hinkley »

yjftsjthsd-h wrote: post #8
incrudible wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If mining landfills was profitable, recycling would be profitable even before that.

I thought recycling was sometimes profitable? At least for metals

The rule of thumb used to be you could save about a kilowatt hour of electricity making a soda can from recycled aluminum versus mining and refining. I don’t know where things sit today

Aluminum was ridiculously expensive before the electrolysis method and municipal electricity.

Re: Why Isn't Landfill Mining More Popular?

#17

Post by analog31 »

My knee jerk reaction is that I wouldn't trust a mining operation to clean up after itself. While I'm sure that landfills could be cleaner, whatever level of cleanliness they achieve is based on the assumption that the sites won't be disturbed.

Re: Why Isn't Landfill Mining More Popular?

#18

Post by ianlevesque »

kulahan wrote: post #14
bradley13 wrote: post #9

Some years ago, Switzerland completely stopped using landfills. All garbage is incinerated. The resulting slag is then processed to reclaim nearly all metals as well as some other important elements. Of course, the burning creates CO2. However, you don't have to mine and refine metal ores, and the incinerators also generate electricity and district heating. So the ecological balance is actually pretty good. As a fina…

The technology of landfills has massively improved over the years. It's not the old pile of garbage covered in birds forever; they turn them into parks and whatnot. It's probably worth looking up, because there's some cool scientific advancements behind it. I'm pulling this next sentence completely out of my ass, but I also imagine it would be convenient, once we develop bacteria to break this stuff down in an enviro…

> once we develop bacteria to break this stuff down in an environmentally friendly way

Sounds as mythical as plastic recycling to me to be honest.

Re: Why Isn't Landfill Mining More Popular?

#19

Post by jrmg »

One of the protagonists of Kim Stanley Robinson’s ‘Mars’ trilogy (starting in ‘Blue Mars’ onwards IIRC) is a billionaire who made his billions by starting ‘dumpmines’, a landfill mining company.

Re: Why Isn't Landfill Mining More Popular?

#20

Post by hinkley »

gosub100 wrote: post #7

I've wondered why they haven't implemented a compromise between recycling and tossing, which would just be segregating certain materials for later sale or recycling. If they put all the plastic bottles in one section of landfill, all the glass, etc it would be a bet toward there someday being a change in technology, materials science, or market prices that might make it worth mining. It would also be cheaper because…

Seattle has a sorting facility for recycling in SODO, you can see it from I5 and 99 if you know where to look. It’s around half the size of the stadium. And that’s just recycling.
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