Need a Waste Technology Facility? Consider These Key Factors.
January 7, 2025
When choosing a waste technology facility, decision makers must navigate a complex landscape. Municipalities and officials are charged with identifying and implementing efficient, cost-effective, sustainable solutions to manage waste. Below are several factors to consider when choosing an appropriate waste management system.
Track Record of Success
To demonstrate the effectiveness of the waste technology, it is ideal to identify a commercial-scale facility that has been operational for several years. However, this is challenging due to the scarcity of such facilities, often because securing funding is difficult, and some facilities have not been proven at the pilot scale yet. If only a robust pilot plant exists, significant due diligence regarding its operating performance will be needed.
While this data is crucial to confirm the technology’s reliability, it’s also important for customers and investors to visit the site, see the municipal solid waste (MSW) arrive, and watch it being processed. This helps build confidence that the technology works as promised.
Feedstock Pre-treatment
Many technologies claim they can run on mixed waste streams but in reality, additional pre-treatment is necessary. This pre-treatment can add significant cost and scope to a project and at times, can limit the amount of available feedstock. When evaluating a pilot plant or a demonstration facility, it is critical to understand the actual feedstock put into the process to ensure that it is applicable to your particular environment. An important consideration is has the pilot facility processed waste that was generated from every season? It is important to demonstrate that seasonal differences in local recycling programs do not negatively impact the technology’s performance.
Ability to Deliver a Project
Executing on a concept is as important (if not more important) than coming up with the idea. This is particularly true with a startup. It is vital to have an insight into the waste management team’s history of delivering large capital projects and know the key partners who will be involved. Were the same companies used to deliver the demonstration plant? If not, why not? How long did that facility take to deliver and what did it cost?
Outlet for Commodities
Typically, the main product of a waste technology facility has a clear market, but byproducts like sludges and chars, which make up 15%-25% of the output, can be problematic tofor a project. These byproducts often need to be disposed of in landfills that charge fees. Understanding all outputs and their economic assumptions is crucial when evaluating a waste technology. Additionally, research the markets the facility intends to sell to. Who are their partners? Can the market handle the additional production or is it relatively niche?
Transparency in Claims
There are many sustainability claims tied to waste processing technologies, such as “100% diversion,” “carbon negative,” and “renewable.” While they sound appealing, it’s necessary to understand their basis:
- Has a carbon negative technology been third-party reviewed?
- Does the claim meet International Organization for Standardization (ISO) standards?
- More importantly, do the assumptions behind these claims apply to your environment?
For example, if a claim assumes waste is going to landfill but your waste is incinerated, the comparison is misleading. Seeing an operation in person and verifying the claims is vital.
Learn More
There’s more to know about evaluating technologies that can help ensure waste is managed effectively and the value of waste streams can be maximized. Juno Oregon stands as a proven solution in waste technology, operating a 70,000-ton-per-year commercial facility for over three years. It has demonstrated 24×7 operations with consistent uptime, typically above 90%. The leadership team has a strong track record of delivering large capital projects on schedule, successfully completing the Oregon commercial facility within budget during the COVID-19 pandemic¹.
Juno® Technology can effectively process waste to produce reusable commodities like recycled paper pulp, natural gas, and various metals, catering to large, global markets leveraging their sister companies². To validate their environmental impact, we underwent a rigorous Life Cycle Assessment ³. Moreover, our tracked transparent recovery rate demonstrates how we have nearly tripled the recycling rate for nearby communities. Our facility is also open for visits. Consider Juno for a sustainable, effective, and transparent waste management solution for your community. For additional information, reach out to us here.
¹ The Juno leadership has led or participated in ~$2 billion worth of capital projects over the last 20 years. Further, Juno has partnered with Wood PLC to deliver projects. Wood has a global presence and deep capability in delivering large capital projects around the world.
² Juno’s sister companies such as Georgia-Pacific Recycling and GP Cellulose have experience selling many of Juno’s commodities globally. The residual material that is left over once all these have been separated out is converted into an engineered fuel that in most places will be consumed onsite to create electricity, and where this is not permitted, can be sent to the cement industry as a fuel source.can be exported to licensed or permitted facilities.
³ Juno completed had a respected consultant complete a bin-to-grave LCA of their Municipal Solid Waste (“MSW”) processing system in accordance with ISO 14044:2006.