Cities and municipalities are giant raw material mines, ranging from tin cans to steel girders for buildings. Thousands of tons of valuable treasures are slumbering here, ready to be lifted. With lectures, seminars, and congresses, Essener Verein Urban Mining e. V. intends to create awareness of the merits of reusing resources from municipalities. This endeavour requires for example building passes that record which raw materials are used for construction in the city. In addition, storage facilities have to be found and cost-effective recovery technologies developed.