Currently listening to: Costing the Earth: CSI Landfill BBC Radio4 08/10/13 3:30pm
Tom Heap discovers landfill mining: finding value in what’s been thrown away. He visits Belgium to meet the first prospectors digging for treasure in trash.
For years rubbish has been thrown away and sent to landfill sites, but now there are moves to look at what’s been discarded as a resource.
Metals, plastics, ceramics and minerals are all buried under ground. As waste in landfill decomposes it emits gases. All are rich pickings and valuable to those looking to recycle and reuse the waste we’ve thrown away as scientists and engineers look to close the circle of waste.
Presenter: Tom Heap Producer: Martin Poyntz-Roberts.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b03c3cnb/Cost…
In this 30 minute episode of the Radio4 programme which looks at the human affect on the planet, Tom Heap meets Yves Tielemans – the Belgian project manager of a revolutionary landfill mining project.
An estimated 60 million tonnes of waste in landfill is about to begin to be mined and useful materials salvaged.
Although some exhumed paper is barely degraded, most of what is dug up is a black clay like substance.
