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Urban Mining
Old notebooks, smartphones and servers contain copper, gold, cobalt and other valuable metals. Behind this is a simple idea: cities, buildings and devices are a large raw materials warehouse. Urban mining wants to use this warehouse instead of constantly extracting new raw materials.
In brief
Urban mining is the targeted recovery of raw materials from the human-made stock, for example from buildings, infrastructure and discarded products such as waste electrical equipment. Instead of extracting metals through mining, they are recovered from old devices and returned to production. For IT hardware, this mainly concerns copper, precious metals, cobalt from batteries and rare earths from magnets.
What is urban mining?
The term literally means "urban mining". The German Environment Agency understands this as the management of the so-called anthropogenic stock. This refers to all durable goods created by humans in which raw materials are bound. Urban mining plans ahead which materials become available when and how they can be recovered.
Electrical and electronic devices are a particularly dense raw materials store. Many different metals are packed into a small space, some of them rare and expensive.
What is in old IT devices
| Raw material | Where it occurs |
|---|---|
| Gold, silver, palladium | Circuit boards, plug contacts, processors |
| Copper | Circuit boards, cables, heat sinks |
| Cobalt, lithium, nickel | Batteries of notebooks, smartphones and tablets |
| Rare earths (e.g., neodymium) | Magnets in hard drives and speakers |
| Indium | Coating of displays |
| Tantalum | Capacitors |
| Aluminum, steel, plastics | Housings and frames |
How precious metals are recovered is explained in the entry Precious metal recovery. Many of these substances are considered in the EU to be critical raw materials.
Why urban mining is gaining importance
The United Nations' Global E-waste Monitor 2024 puts the quantity of electronic waste generated worldwide in 2022 at 62 million tonnes. Only 22.3% of it was demonstrably collected and recycled properly. For rare earths, recycling of electronic waste covers only around 1% of demand, according to the report.
The EU wants to reduce its dependence on imports. The Critical Raw Materials Act (EU) 2024/1252 sets a benchmark that by 2030 at least 25% of the annual demand for strategic raw materials should come from recycling. The legal framework reflects the status as of 10/2026. How high recovery actually is, is shown by the Recycling rate.
Rule of thumb: Urban mining recovers raw materials from devices that can no longer be used. Continuing to use a working device saves even more.
Urban mining and reuse
Urban mining is recycling, that is, the third level of the waste hierarchy. When dismantling and smelting, part of the materials is lost, and the energy invested in manufacturing is spent. That is why a device should first be used for as long as possible. Only after that does the path to raw material recovery begin. The interplay of both approaches is described in the entry Circular economy. Surprising figures about old devices can be found in 10 facts about electronic waste, and routes to circular IT in the article IT circular model.
At Second IT, "reuse before recycling" applies. Devices that can no longer be refurbished are dismantled. Functional components are secured, materials are separated, and precious metals as well as high-quality plastics are returned to the raw material cycle through specialized recycling processes. More on IT disposal with material recovery.
Frequently asked questions about urban mining
What does urban mining mean in German?
Literally "städtischer Bergbau" (urban mining). It refers to the recovery of raw materials from buildings, infrastructure and discarded products instead of from natural deposits.
Which raw materials can be recovered from electronic waste?
Above all copper, aluminum, steel, precious metals such as gold, silver and palladium, as well as cobalt and nickel from batteries. Rare earths have so far been recovered only to a small extent.
Is urban mining better than reuse?
No. Reuse preserves the whole device and thus the entire manufacturing effort. Urban mining is the right path for devices that can no longer be used or repaired.
How much electronic waste is recycled worldwide?
According to the Global E-waste Monitor 2024, 62 million tonnes of electronic waste were generated worldwide in 2022. Only 22.3% of it was demonstrably collected and recycled properly. For rare earths, recycling covers around 1% of demand.
What benchmark does the EU set for recycling raw materials?
The Critical Raw Materials Act (EU) 2024/1252 sets a benchmark that by 2030 at least 25% of the annual demand for strategic raw materials should come from recycling. As of: 10/2026.
Keep using first, then recover raw materials – with documentation for your ESG reporting.
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