Based on innovations created in the Innovation Barn, the City of Charlotte will use that info to help remove certain materials from from the waste stream that will be used to support the suggested business models. For example, if an entrepreneur in the Innovation Barn develops a shoe that is made from recycled plastics and develops a sound business model to create these shoes plastic material will be diverted from the landfill and put to good use.
Food waste, which is the number one item in household trash, will also be diverted from the landfill through Circular Charlotte. One of the case studies is to develop a circular industry based on feeding 50,000 tons of food waste to black soldier fly larvae, which will then be converted into pellets to use as feed on North Carolina poultry farms. This system reduces food waste and could create an estimated 300 jobs.