A 103-year-old company recently located in Aurora, but officials are hoping residents will hardly notice it. That’s because the company is Groot Industries, Inc., the city’s new waste hauler, which recently acquired some assets from Republic Services, including the Aurora waste contract.
Groot officials this week appeared before the Aurora City Council, meeting as a Committee of the Whole, to assure aldermen and the public they want their transition to be as seamless as possible.
“Everything you’re hearing from us is that everything will stay the same,” said Frank Hillegonds, of Groot. “Rates, routes, the days of pickup, drivers … will all stay the same.”
Hillegonds told aldermen that the company took over the waste contract as is, with all of the different customer tiers, recycling collection and the senior waste bags as well. Even the customer service number, 630-892-9294, is the same, he said.
Groot began as a company in 1914 hauling coal ashes from Chicago homes, and has grown into the largest residential and commercial waste hauler in Illinois, with close to 450,000 customers statewide, Hillegonds said.
The only things that will change, said Hillegonds and Bruce Thomas, also of Groot, is bill paying. Bills will come from Groot now, and customers who pay online must register with the company at its website, groot.com.
Mayor Richard Irvin said there were complaints to his office that some bills people received asked them to pay “immediately,” rather than the end of the month, as is usual.
Thomas said that was an unfortunate glitch because the company is switching from an end-of-the-month due date to one in the middle of the month. He said people receiving those bills can wait until the end of the month.
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