State invitation for Carbotura circular manufacturing facility

Hawaiʻi ships in nearly everything it uses, and what’s left over goes to limited landfill space, gets burned, or ends up on our shorelines and reefs. The proposal asks the State to invite Carbotura, Inc. to site, invest in and operate an Advanced Circular Manufacturing (ACM) facility in Hawaiʻi. The facility would break residual material streams down to the elemental level and recover them as engineered products made here.

Carbotura builds, owns and operates its facilities with private capital. The State and counties wouldn’t need to fund construction. Green Fee money would pay for the public steps that let a project like this move ahead responsibly:

1. A statewide residual-materials characterization and siting study

2. Community and Native Hawaiian consultation on location, environmental review and benefits

3. Permitting coordination across agencies and counties

Carbotura’s model also pays the islands. Under a 30-year Circular Supply Agreement, each participating county transfers its residual materials to the facility and earns a Circular Royalty™ on what it transfers. The royalty begins 13 months after the county’s first Beneficiation Fee payment, turning a long-term cost into a revenue stream for the community.

Expected benefits: near-zero emissions, discharge and waste, and the facility is a net water producer, a real advantage on islands with limited fresh water. It also means much less landfill use and shoreline debris, local manufacturing and skilled green jobs, and less reliance on imported materials. Marine debris and derelict fishing gear can go into the same process instead of being shipped out or buried.

Contact: Allen Witters, Founder & Chairman, Carbotura, Inc. — alw@carbotura.com