China's export restrictions on rare earths and the resulting supply shortages and rapid price increases in 2010 and 2011 marked the birth of intense discussions about "critical raw materials" (Wall 2014). This was followed by the publication of the critical raw materials list for the European Union by the European Commission in 2011 (EK 2011). The following year, the first list of critical raw materials for Austria was also published by the Federal Ministry for Transport, Innovation and Technology (BMVIT 2012). This thesis primarily deals with the possibilities and limits of recovering critical raw materials from waste streams, from waste treatment plants and from industrial residues. It commences at the end of waste management and industrial processes, wherefore municipal solid waste incineration bottom ash, waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) scrap from metal processing plants, scrap from mechanical-biological treatment as well as polishing sludge and neutralization gypsum from the glass industry is dealt with. Theoretical potentials for the recovery of (critical) raw materials were identified on the basis of literature data, sorting analyses and chemical investigations carried out in the course of the thesis. Furthermore material flows and sinks were determined, methods for recovering critical raw materials were researched, further developed and ultimately tested in practical trials. Mainly mechanical processing techniques (screening, magnetic separation, sensor technology) were applied for the concentration of critical metals. If mechanical processing techniques were not suitable for enriching the selected critical raw materials, chemical methods such as precipitation were utilized. Results include the theoretical recovery potential for (critical) raw materials from municipal solid waste incineration bottom ash, fine WEEE scrap, and scrap from mechanical-biological treatment. Concepts for the concentration of critical raw materials from the waste streams bottom ash, WEEE scrap and neutralization gypsum were developed.