Juno® Technology Makes a Difference in Oregon
Just outside of Newport and tucked along the Yaquina River, the city of Toledo has been taking some incredible strides towards a more sustainable future. Despite not being well-known, this close-knit Oregon community is making waves in waste recovery by being one of the first places to adopt Juno® Technology. Georgia-Pacific is a long-standing supporter of Toledo’s growth and has recently taken the next step towards making a positive, sustainable difference by installing a 70,000-ton capacity waste processing facility. By pivoting and overcoming challenges within the supply chain during construction, Juno has almost tripled Toledo’s diversion rate, reintroducing once-lost materials back into the economy. What might have seemed like a pipe dream has quickly proven to be an unbelievable testament to not only what Juno can do for communities but what communities, like Toledo, have done for Juno, and here’s how it all came together.
Setting Targets & Facing Challenges
After observing positive outcomes at a small pilot facility in Georgia that effectively processed waste from nearby fast-food restaurants, airports, and office buildings, Juno set sights on expanding operations. The promising pilot results helped the Juno team realize the potential of this technology to address the recycling gap in local communities, where many items people throw away have coatings or are too contaminated by food to be recoverable through conventional recycling methods. Toledo seemed like the perfect location for the next Juno plant, with Georgia-Pacific’s long-standing roots.
In 2020, construction began on the Juno facility in Toledo, setting the stage for the groundbreaking initiative. Despite facing challenges from the West Coast Fires and the pandemic, the team’s commitment ensured the facility was completed on time in early 2021. However, with commercial waste reduced due to lockdowns, the Juno team swiftly adapted to processing residential waste much earlier than planned. Their tenacity paid off as they successfully processed nearly all of Toledo’s waste sooner than anticipated!
Toledo’s Remarkable Results
The Oregon plant has been operating for a little over two years since construction was completed in 2021. But, since Juno Technology had never operated at this scale, there were still some uncertainties, with the expectation that production would slowly ramp up over time. In fact, after nine months of a measured ramp-up, the facility demonstrated it could process about 70,000 tons per year! This led the facility to operate 24 hours a day, and after the first year, Juno almost tripled landfill diversion rates in the Toledo area—making for one of the highest recovery rates in Oregon!¹ The impact of the operations also successfully lowered Toledo’s landfill rate from 77% to an impressive 34%, according to a Maul, Foster, and Alongi review of December 2021 data. Today, the Toledo facility continues to shine as a symbol of sustainability, leading the way in significant positive change and showcasing the remarkable potential of Juno Technology for resource recovery.
Toledo and the Future of Waste Recovery
Not only has the success of Juno Technology in Oregon proven to be a major step towards responsible processing of recyclable materials, but it has also opened new possibilities for alternatives to landfilling and incineration of waste. The Toledo facility will continue to serve as an important operation to further refine and advance the role Juno can play in waste recovery and diversion. Leveraging the results, Juno aims for future installations to be capable of processing 300,000 tons of waste per year by using additional sorting equipment and driving potential diversion rates up to 90 percent of the waste processed by Juno. This, along with the ability to fuel itself with biogas derived from food waste, are just a few instances of the exciting next steps and potential for Juno Technology. These significant outcomes have broadened Juno’s viability to expand, serving our mission to drive positive change in waste management and help even more communities around the globe reach their sustainability goals.
Read more about Juno Technology’s success in Oregon here.
Sources
Georgia Pacific
GP Juno
² https://www.gpjuno.com/juno-history/
³ https://www.gpjuno.com/about/juno-technology/