The Business Case for Circular Economy Programs

24 Nov, 2025

The Business Case for Circular Economy Programs

According to the World Economic Forum, approximately $62.5 billion in value is lost every year due to discarded electronics. That’s an enormous sum, and even a slice of it can make a huge difference in most companies. This is why circular economy programs are so important. When you treat it as a financial strategy, it can turn waste streams into value.

In this article, we will demonstrate how circular economy programs can save money, recover value, mitigate risk, and enhance your brand trust.

Circular Economy Programs Cut Waste and Procurement Spend

Circular economy programs, when implemented effectively, can reduce ongoing costs associated with waste handling, transportation, and purchasing. It is simple math. When you stop throwing away usable products and materials, you spend less on disposal and less on replacements.

1. Lower Waste and Disposal Costs

Every ton of waste moved to a landfill incurs costs such as hauling and gate fees and sometimes long-term environmental liability. However, by leveraging zero-landfill recycling and product take-back schemes, you can divert these products into repair, reuse, or material recovery. This way, your waste bill is reduced. 

2. Lower Procurement Spend Through Reuse and Refurbishment Programs

Refurbishment programs and repair and reuse schemes extend the life of assets while also reducing the need for new purchasing. For example, a laptop that moves from your design team to your call center minimizes the volume of new orders you have to make.

Even when the product cannot be kept in-house, it can still contribute to procurement savings. For instance, partnering with Close the Loop for your IT asset disposition (ITAD) will generate cash from the sale of refurbished devices, which procurement teams can treat as a credit against future expenditures. 

Circular Economy Programs Turn Retired Assets Into Income

When you establish structures for your ITAD, refurbishment programs, and material recovery, you can turn assets classified as dead stock into an income source — for instance, recovering value from retired electronic assets instead of writing them off. 

1. ITAD and Refurbished Asset Sales

Well-run IT asset disposition programs handle product take-back, testing, secure data wiping, grading, and resale of assets. Devices that still have some use are refurbished and redeployed either internally or to external markets. This way, your business generates revenue while also reducing the number of devices sitting idle.

2. Material Recovery From Non-Repairable Items

Products that cannot be refurbished still contain valuable materials. For example, materials such as metals, plastics, glass, and circuit boards can be diverted from landfills into material recovery channels. Bottle-to-bottle plastics recycling, metal recovery from mixed scrap, and compound products like TonerPave, which utilize recovered toner and plastics, are all concrete forms of value recovery from scrap streams.

Circular Economy Programs Cut Data, Legal, and Environmental Risk

Unmanaged scrap and ad hoc disposal create hidden risks, especially when sensitive data is involved. However, circular economy programs, such as managed ITAD and zero-landfill recycling, reduce that risk by incorporating data control and compliant handling into the reverse flow.

1. Reduced Data and Compliance Risk in IT and Electronics

Retired IT equipment often carries sensitive data long after it is removed from a desk or server room. If that data is not wiped or destroyed, it can resurface through informal reuse channels, causing severe legal and reputational damage. However, ITAD partners like ours — by closing the loop through certified wiping, shredding, and serialized reporting — ensure each device is thoroughly cleaned.

2. Reduced Environmental Liability and Future Regulation Risk

Partnering with a sustainability partner like Close the Loop for zero-landfill recycling programs reduces the chance of your branded products showing up in uncontrolled dumps or export yards. Beyond that, our collection, treatment, and reporting processes ensure your company can demonstrate to regulators and customers where waste products and materials actually end up.

Circular Economy Programs Build Trust and Market Advantage

Circular economy programs enhance your company’s brand position by providing tangible data to share on waste reduction, value recovery, and risk mitigation.

1. Meeting Customer and Investor Expectations With Evidence

More than ever, customers and investors are concerned about waste and resource use figures, alongside price and quality. Close the Loop’s certifications, which can prove the tons of waste diverted from landfills, the percentage of products handled through returns management, and the share of material recovery, can provide them with this information.

2. Differentiation Through Verified Circular Performance

Brands that can document value recovery and zero-landfill recycling stand out in crowded tenders and consumer markets. Circular economy programs managed with one end-to-end partner make it easier to gather consistent data on reuse, ITAD, returns management, and recycling outcomes.

Partner with Close the Loop for your circular economy programs today.