what items are recoverable through landfill mining?

Question

could you give me a list of some things in the trash that could be recoverable through landfill mining.. and what cant be recovered and must be reburied???

Answer 1

It would depend on the nature and age of the landfill. Asuming it were a municipal landfill (household garbage) and were a few years old, then it would theoretically be possible to recover the following materials:
-The organics (including paper) could be recovered, mulched, and used for non-intensive agricultural use (silviculture, or non-crop subsurface soil conditioning, for example).
- The metals could be recovered for recycling use.
- Timber could be recovered, mulched and used as fuel (timber recovered from landfill would count as a renewable resource, because it would reduce the carbon footprint)
- Inorganics could be recovered as another form of sub-soil conditioner
- Concrete and brick could be recovered, crushed and re-used
- Plaster could be recovered as a source of sulphate (calcium sulphate).

I am very sceptical of the economic sense of doing this, however. Despite what a lot of people think, if space is available (disused quarries, etc), then landfill is actually a msafe and economically viable means of waste disposal; particularly for those unrecoverable materials left over after recovery of useful materials BEFORE disposal.

Answer 2

Recoverable? As in for recycling? Aluminum and many forms of plastics can be recycled.

Many electronics (old computer monitors, computers, electronics) have valuable parts that can be reused as well, but the cost of salvaging them are quite high.

If we dramatically learn how to control our waste management system, landfill mining would not be necessary.

Answer 3

Everything being dumped into landfills can be recycled and in fact should be recycled. The use of landfill is the most stupid process used by humans and makes no sense at all.