Sep 15, 2026 · 50 min · 12 segments
In this episode of the Waste World Podcast, Gage Edwards chats with Christy Hurlburt, Senior Director at Viably, about the challenges and opportunities facing the waste and sustainability industries…
Christy HurlburtGuest
Gage EdwardsHost
but what I would like to start with is something we, uh, a phrase we hear a lot about, and it says circular economy.
You know, we're talking circular economy all the time and what that means to different, uh, people through different materials.
Um, so when you talk about building a circular economy, what does that actually look like in practice to you?
Uh, at Presidio, which is the graduate school I went to, my principal sustainable management professor was Hunter Lovins.
She co-authored Natural Capitalism, and one of the books we read was Donella Meadows, Dana Meadows' seminal work on systems thinking.
So, these women and many others helped establish that foundation of how resources move through systems, how feedback loops work, and why waste is often a symptom of poor design rather than an unavoidable outcome, which is what we have created in a linear world.
So, as far as what, what the circular economy is, last time I looked, there's 100 definitions of the circular economy.
So, if you wanna go and do some research, I would suggest the ISO standard or, um, Ellen MacArthur Foundation.
But to me personally, and for what it's worth for the waste industry, a circular economy is simply designing systems where materials retain value instead of becoming waste.
In a linear economy, we mine the material, manufacture the can, use it once, and bury it in a landfill, but in a circular economy, that same can is collected, recycled, turned back into a new can.
So it continues, that material continues to stay in circulation and create value.
That said, if our goal is to eliminate waste, does that mean we don't need the waste industry? Do we need landfills? You know, what happens to the Waste World podcast? Um, and that-
but what I would like to start with is something we, uh, a phrase we hear a lot about, and it says circular economy.
You know, we're talking circular economy all the time and what that means to different, uh, people through different materials.
Um, so when you talk about building a circular economy, what does that actually look like in practice to you?
Uh, at Presidio, which is the graduate school I went to, my principal sustainable management professor was Hunter Lovins.
She co-authored Natural Capitalism, and one of the books we read was Donella Meadows, Dana Meadows' seminal work on systems thinking.
So, these women and many others helped establish that foundation of how resources move through systems, how feedback loops work, and why waste is often a symptom of poor design rather than an unavoidable outcome, which is what we have created in a linear world.
So, as far as what, what the circular economy is, last time I looked, there's 100 definitions of the circular economy.
So, if you wanna go and do some research, I would suggest the ISO standard or, um, Ellen MacArthur Foundation.
But to me personally, and for what it's worth for the waste industry, a circular economy is simply designing systems where materials retain value instead of becoming waste.
In a linear economy, we mine the material, manufacture the can, use it once, and bury it in a landfill, but in a circular economy, that same can is collected, recycled, turned back into a new can.
So it continues, that material continues to stay in circulation and create value.
That said, if our goal is to eliminate waste, does that mean we don't need the waste industry? Do we need landfills? You know, what happens to the Waste World podcast? Um, and that-
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3 of 10
Recycling Is Not The Whole Strategy
The industry cannot recycle its way out.
America's Food Waste Capacity Crisis
Food waste reveals a nationwide capacity problem.
The Waste Industry Is A Safety Net
Waste systems should support society, not excuse it.
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