Das Projekt "BIOLEACHING: Vom Abfall zum Rohstoff - mikrobielle Metallrueckgewinnung aus Abfallverbrennungsrueckstaenden" wird vom Umweltbundesamt gefördert und von Universität Zürich, Institut für Umweltwissenschaften durchgeführt. Within the general guideline 'From waste to resource' the microbial metal recovery from bottom and fly ash will be investigated. The objective of the project is to apply a bacterial leaching process ('bioleaching') for the recovery of metals from waste incineration (WI) residues which can be considered as 'artificial ores'. Bioleaching allows the cycling of metals by a process dose to natural biogeochemical cycles reducing the demand for ressources such as ores, energy, or landfill space. The project focuses on the following innovative characteristics: WI-residues are used as a resource for the winning of metals by a microbial treatment. In comparison to thermal treatment of WI-residues (vitrification, evaporation of metals), bioleaching represents a biological technique which is not dependent on high energy inputs and in competitively in juxtaposition to thermal techniques. Concerning microbiological processes in particular, the worldwide market potential for environmental biotechnologies would nearly double in the 1990s according to an OECD study. In addition, these techniques fit well with the overall 'green' movement of maintaining nature's harmony that dominates environmental awareness and much of public policy today. Government regulations and (research) policies that favor green technologies are a key incentive for developing such technologies. These find a wide acceptance in public and in politics. It is a matter of innovative technologies with a proved market gap.