Here is what Advanced Circular Manufacturing does, in plain terms.
♻
Your bin does not change
You recycle the same way you do today. This is about what is left over afterwards — the part that currently goes to Lorton to be burned.
No change at the kerb
🔥
Nothing is burned
The process runs in a sealed chamber with no oxygen in it. Without oxygen nothing can combust. There is no stack, no smoke and no ash. This is not a replacement incinerator and it is not waste-to-energy.
No combustion
🏭
It becomes products
Material is broken down to its elements and reformed into synthetic graphite, graphene compounds, recovered metals, clean industrial gases and ultrapure water — over 100 specification-grade materials.
100+ materials
💰
A royalty comes back
Carbotura pays the County a royalty on every ton delivered, for at least thirty years, starting above what the County pays to have the material processed and rising every year.
30-year minimum
🛠
Local manufacturing jobs
Around 100 direct roles at the first phase, rising with each phase — process operation, maintenance, quality and logistics.
~100 direct roles
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No ash to bury
Today the ash left after burning is buried at the landfill complex on the same site. An ACM plant produces none, because there is nothing being burned to produce it.
Neither burned nor buried
Today vs. With the Factory
What Changes — Side by Side
🔴 Today
✗What you recycle is recycled. What is left is trucked to Lorton.
✗More than 650,000 tons a year is burned there to make steam and electricity.
✗The ash that remains is buried at the landfill complex on the same site.
✗The County pays about $98 a ton for that, and its own staff expect roughly $150 by 2032.
✗The agreement ends in 2031, when the lease on the land runs out.
🟢 With the Factory
✓What you recycle is recycled. Nothing changes at your kerb.
✓What is left goes to a factory instead of a furnace.
✓It is broken down without burning and reformed into manufactured products.
✓There is no ash, because there is no combustion to produce any.
✓The County pays a fee to have it processed and receives a royalty on every ton.
How the Money Works
The Circular Royalty™ — Explained Simply
This is not a subsidy. It is not a discount. Here is how Fairfax County, Virginia earns money back from the materials it supplies.
Your materials are collected
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The factory converts them into manufactured products
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Products are sold in global markets
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Royalty paid back to Fairfax County, Virginia
What the Circular Royalty™ is — in plain terms
The County pays a Beneficiation Fee to have its material processed, and separately receives a Circular Royalty™ on the same tonnage. Two different payments in two different directions, reported separately rather than combined into one number. Being straight about it: modelled at the middle of our range, the fee starts about $27 a ton above what the County pays today. But the County’s own staff expect their cost to reach roughly $150 a ton by 2032 — and on those figures our fee is below theirs by then. The royalty starts at $150 a ton and rises every year for at least thirty years.
Your Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
No. There is no combustion at any stage, no stack, and no ash. The process runs in a sealed, oxygen-free chamber — without oxygen, nothing can burn. It is a manufacturing operation, and it is not waste-to-energy. Carbotura does not sell power, electricity or hydrogen.
Yes. Nothing changes at the kerb. This concerns the material that is left after recycling — the part currently trucked to Lorton and burned.
No site has been chosen. No parcel has been identified or assessed, and choosing one would be part of a joint working phase with the County, not something decided in advance.
No. Carbotura finances, owns and operates the facility, and carries all the permitting work at its own cost. The County commits no capital at any phase.
Not yet, and we say so plainly. Carbotura has no facility in commercial operation anywhere. The first is in York County, Pennsylvania, under construction now, targeted for late 2027 to early 2028. The agreement with any county includes a condition requiring an operating facility that meets our stated claims before that county is held to performance.
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Indicative reference only — not an offer. Pricing under a Circular Supply Agreement (CSA) or CMOA. The Beneficiation Fee is set at $125/ton. All figures are Carbotura planning-basis estimates and are ILLUSTRATIVE until Term Sheet execution. Carbotura has no facility at or past Commercial Operation Date.
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Candidate siting area — provisional, subject to Term Sheet phase verification.