Regional management of material flows from anthropogenic deposits

Raw materials are extracted from their natural deposits and transformed into infrastructures, buildings and goods for daily use. In this form, they often remain for a long time and form an anthropogenic store of materials that has multi-layered metabolic relationships with its surroundings. They are thus analogous to natural raw material deposits.

Their importance as a potential source of secondary raw materials is increasingly being recognised. In this context, the recoverable and usable quantities depend in particular on the available recycling technologies and the economic efficiency of high-quality recycling compared to the extraction and processing of primary raw materials. Especially for the reuse of mineral fractions, which make up the majority of these deposits, regional conditions (e.g. primary raw material deposits, disposal capacities) and structural developments (e.g. demand for building materials) of the individual regions are decisive factors. Appropriate approaches for the efficient use of these potentials are currently being developed within the framework of various initiatives and research projects.