The Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation (HDOT) has been awarded $312,000 in competitive grant funding towards construction of a plastic recycling research facility.

The grant award is part of the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Climate Challenge Initiative to support the efforts of state DOTs in carbon reduction and sustainable construction materials.

HDOT plans to combine this award with other funding sources to establish a plastic recycling research facility, the first of its kind in Hawaiʻi, with a total cost anticipated to be around $6 million.

The facility, which will allow the conversion of waste plastic into new products that can be used in transportation infrastructure. is anticipated to be up and running within two years.