About Us
Loren Jojola was born and raised on the Isleta Pueblo Indian reservation in New Mexico. He is a proud member of the Pueblo and growing up has seen such a dramatic change in how we handle our waste.
He can remember the time his entire community had metal barrels to burn your trash. Your parents would send you to take it out and you would come back smelling like smoke. He remembers driving to the "dump",
which was an open space of land, unmanned and you would dump your trash in whatever pile was burning. He still lives in the Pueblo and sees how the times have changed.
Loren started working for and serving his Pueblo in 2006, when he began in the solid waste driver/operator. During that time on his trips to the landfill he realized how sad it was to see where our
Pueblo’s waste lands up. It lands in a big hole in the mountains. The simple joy of driving to the landfill is nice to see the wildlife, the deer and elk, but it saddened him at the same time by
seeing our waste left there. This is when he learned the importance of waste diversion and recycling.
Today Loren manages the Pueblo of Isleta Solid Waste Department. He has worked to build a sustainable and successful recycle program. His home Pueblo now has curbside residential recycling services all
started with grant funding. He has worked to clean up illegal dumps on his reservation and he also started a successful scrap tire management program both with grant funding. He expanded recycling
operations Pueblo-wide, including commercial waste hauling operations.
Loren also serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the New Mexico Recycling Coalition. There he kindly and skillfully shares his knowledge, learns from colleagues and demonstrates strong
leadership skills in the solid waste and recycling industry. Furthermore, Loren is familiar with funding mechanisms and how to use those funding mechanisms to create new programs to divert material
from the landfill. He is certified in Transfer Station Management, Sustainable Resource Management, Transfer Station Facility Operator, Recycling Facility Operator and Hazardous Waste and Emergency
Response to name a few. Loren is always willing to "trash" with anyone and can be reached by email.
Loren can be reached by e-mail at Loren.Jojola@isletapueblo.com