Zero Waste, Zero Illusions: The Reality Behind Zero Landfill

17 Oct, 2025

Zero Waste, Zero Illusions: The Reality Behind Zero Landfill

Almost every company claims zero-waste initiatives. But when you consider the amount of materials that are still being burned, buried, and exported, you realize that the reality is far from these claims. This is because eliminating waste is not just about posturing and grandstanding; it is about making design choices long before any bin or truck touches the material flow.

Why Zero Waste Matters

According to the EPA, tackling waste reduction from the source is the preferred strategy, meaning that the most significant impact is achieved by prevention. While the reality of zero waste may not be feasible in today’s world, the idea can motivate people and companies to move in the right direction. 

For instance, “zero landfill” goals prompt companies and supply chains to take serious action to reduce waste, lower costs, and reduced environmental impact, especially when the numbers show honest progress.

Real-world operations benefit from this idea when product management aligns with circular economy thinking and incorporates product reuse and material recovery into purchasing, packaging, and after-sales plans. This is why teams that cut waste at the design phase and manage returns through sustainable logistics are most effective.

Where Zero Landfill Claims Break

The current recycling infrastructure cannot keep pace with the rising volumes. In addition, mixed plastics, lithium batteries, PFAS-laced textiles, and contaminated packaging are resistant to responsible recycling at scale, which is why achieving a zero landfill goal is almost impossible. Current definitions also add a layer of confusion when, for instance, zero landfill actually means 90% diversion, while the remaining 10% still goes to disposal pathways that communities question.

Then there is the problem of diminishing returns in the zero-waste cycle, as the closer you get to zero, the more expensive it becomes. The Zero Waste International Alliance has argued that many programs treat 90% diversion from incineration and landfill as “zero waste,” but in reality, this is never truly the case. For example, if several jurisdictions within one region reached the 90% goal, there could be enough materials to feed an incinerator. Would these communities be considered zero waste communities?

The Path Forward to Verified Zero Waste and Zero Landfills

Zero waste and zero landfill initiatives must transition from slogans to workable and well-defined systems that companies can implement across various operations, including sustainable manufacturing, distribution, and reverse logistics.

1. Audit Limits With Open Books

Begin with a waste audit that categorizes every stream by location, vendor, and outcome using plain language and dates for environmental transparency. Post what you can recycle now, what you can reuse now, and what still heads to incineration or landfill with reasons and near-term fixes for verified zero waste. In your audit, ensure to:

• Map hazardous, composite, or contaminated items that stall material recovery so engineering can target redesign, substitution, or disassembly steps with urgency.
• Tie each stream to a clear next action, for example, swapping a resin, changing a label, changing a closure, or creating a take-back plan with confirmed outlets and receipts.

2. Build Circular Partnerships That Close Real Loops

Select partners that can collect, sort, refurbish, and remanufacture with traceable outcomes across the regions you actually ship to and operate. Third-party validation programs, such as UL 2799, are useful to clarify waste diversion claims and define what constitutes disposal versus diversion with rigor and shared language. Before entering these partnerships, though, ensure the following:

• Require serial-level or batch-level reporting, along with receipts, for product management audits.
• Contract for return logistics, repair, parts harvesting, and commodity outlets to accept your materials at predictable quality and cadence.

3. Report Results With Context That Builds Trust

Publish reports that separate reuse, recycling, energy recovery, and disposal so teams see both wins and gaps with candor. EPA and city programs often frame “zero waste” as 90% diversion, which you can cite while still declaring the plan for the last 10% with dates and named projects.

In the report, ensure that a monthly dashboard is included that flags the three toughest streams, the spend per diverted ton, and the next design change that reduces waste at the source. And celebrate upstream prevention, since the EPA’s waste hierarchy places source reduction above all other methods for durable impact and prudent spend.

Zero Waste With Close the Loop

Two principles will guide the work ahead: Measure what you can control today, and redesign what blocks progress tomorrow through circular innovation. You need Close the Loop’s expertise and resources to ensure your zero-waste goals are achievable and done as effectively as possible. Connect with us today.