Scaling the Circular Economy

Scaling the Circular Economy

From Age of Adoption by Keith Zakheim

March 24, 2026 · 31 min · Episode 94

About this episode

Ron Gonen discusses the challenges and opportunities in scaling the circular economy and the misconceptions surrounding recycling economics.

Did you know the U.S. has only 27 years of median landfill capacity left while throwing away $6.5 billion in reusable materials every year?Ron Gonen, Founder and CEO of Closed Loop Partners, challenges everything you thought you knew about recycling economics. With backing from Walmart, Unilever, Coke, and Pepsi, Ron reveals how America has only 27 years of median landfill capacity left while throwing away $6.5 billion in reusable materials annually. "The landfill industry deserves a PR award of the century," Ron argues, exposing how they convinced us recycling costs money when landfill disposal actually costs more per ton. Can circular economy become the rare bipartisan win in Washington? Ron explains why robotics, material science, and supply chain chaos are finally making his vision scalable.

People in this episode

Host: Keith Zakheim

Guest: Ron Gonen

Topics covered

  • circular economy
  • recycling
  • landfill capacity
  • sustainability
  • economics
  • technology

Keywords

  • circular economy
  • recycling
  • landfill
  • sustainability
  • robotics
  • material science
  • supply chain

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Closed Loop Partners, Walmart, Unilever, Coke, Pepsi

Places: U.S.

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