The city of Charlotte, North Carolina, is currently greatly underusing its potential for utilising waste. Only 11.5% of Charlotte's waste streams are being recycled or composted, and the majority of the rest goes towards landfills that often disproportionately affect the poorer members of the community. The amount of waste being landfilled in Charlotte yearly represents a pure material value of roughly 111 million USD per year, not counting the economic potential of recycling operations.

Charlotte's city government has collaborated with Metabolic to create a report on circular opportunities in the city and, based on that report, formulated a strategy for a circular Charlotte by 2040. The report is based on best practices from the United States and Europe, particularly multiple cities from the Netherlands. It suggests the creation of an Innovation Barn that allows students to work on new ideas and startups, the recycling of hotel and hospital textiles as well as concrete from the construction industry, a new reward scheme to incentivise recycling, and the creation of a food recycling scheme using black soldier fly larvae to produce poultry feed.