Mining landfills better than digging new mines?

Sometime ago I read or heard about landfills being mined for gold in Japan

Looking into landfill mining, I found a large number of sites, mostly positive.  One I found a few weeks ago is Landfill Miners.

A search for “mining gold from landfill” or “mining copper from landfill” turned up a variety of sites about landfill mining, mostly positive.  It seems more recent articles are more positive than older articles.  Many projects reclaim a large variety of materials, many of which can be sold for less than mining the original materials.  Aluminum and copper are major materials in this category.

Using oil to save oil

Many are saying that plastic bags should not be used because they are made from oil and that they do not decompose readily in landfills. Some of these people either use paper bags for trash or buy bio-degradable plastic bags.

We tried bio-degradable bags years ago but they were flimsy and ripped easily. We gave them another try this week. They do seem sturdy enough for waste-basket liners. However, as I read the label I found out they were made in Norway! I wonder how much oil it takes to ship them from Norway to Minnesota. Also, the bags are corn-based; corn supposedly takes a lot of oil to raise.