Green transitions towards a more sustainable economic system are both critically important and actively unfolding. The economic system—encompassing production, consumption and waste management, as well as the material stocks, flows and social relationships between actors—is deeply embedded in institutional structures that are both enabling and constraining. Societal transformation thus inevitably entails institutional change. The book’s diverse contributions are linked by a strong focus on the institutional aspects of transforming waste into urban mines from which valuable scarce materials can be extracted. The required transformation is reflected in the dual meaning that we attribute to the term ‘recycling institutions’, which refers not only to the organisations, rules and practices involved in recycling, but also the repurposing—or ‘recycling’—of existing institutions that is required to meet sustainability goals. This phenomenon is examined primarily in Norway, whose involvement in environmental stewardship and agenda-setting globally, combined with its reliance upon natural resource extraction, make it a rich case for investigation. This chapter explores these wider challenges and dilemmas related to resource use and waste management, considering the overlaps and differences between the concepts of recycling, the circular economy and urban mining, and demonstrating the analytical value of an institutional perspective.