ABSTRACT
Metals can be recycled; hence, the processing of discarded end-of-life (EoL) materials for the recovery of precious metals is of increasing importance. Urban mining is a term for the recovery of valuable metals from anthropogenic resources and EoL materials This chapter describes how the exploitation of urban mine resources under the concept of a circular economy can be a sustainable approach to conserve primary resources and mitigate the supply crunch of precious metals. Legislation, policies and management systems for sustainable urban mining of secondary resources are discussed in detail. It is concluded that sustainable recycling of e-waste and spent catalytic converters will only be achieved in the near future if the formal and informal sectors work together to practise integrative recycling.
