Environmental Stewardship
Groot Green, More than a Color
Recently, we were taken aback when one of our larger customers called and asked, "So, what's GROOT doing to "Go Green"?" You see, we believe we have been "Green" for decades. But to set the record straight the following facts apply to Groot Industries' efforts with regard to our environmental stewardship. Please note the "firsts"
1986 - Groot Industries spearheaded the first curbside recycling programs in northern Illinois thru multiple pilot programs and within 4 years expanded them to incorporate its entire residential customer base.
1989 - Groot Industries built the first Midwestern MRF (Material Recovery Facility) capable of separating plastics into 4 different types - glass by color, tin, steel, and aluminum. In addition a second process to sort newspaper, junk mail, phone books and magazines was incorporated. This allowed our collection vehicles to be of the "two" sort variety instead of six to eight, saving tremendous amounts of time and fuel and making the collection of recyclables more economical.
1997 - Groot Industries designed and built the first SINGLE STREAM material recovery facility in the Midwest in conjunction with its Primary Waste Processing Facility. The single stream facility allowed us to mechanically separate the paper products from the other recyclables. This process allowed us to use the same type of vehicles used for the collection of waste as we use for recycling; two compartment specialized trucks were no longer required. Our Primary Waste Processing Facility also gave Groot Industries the ability to process "Blue Bag" recyclables which was a process required by the City of Chicago for a time. This system further can recycle about ten percent of "raw" waste which flows thru the facility.
We presently collect waste and recyclables from over 250,000 homes per week as well as thousands of business establishments in northern Illinois.
2005 - Groot industries began experimenting with alternate fuels in order to decrease our carbon footprint and searching for ways to power our vehicles more economically. We were the first waste and recycling company in Illinois to start using BIO-diesel fuel.
2006 - Over 60 percent of our fleet operates on BIO-Diesel fuel 
2007 - 100% of our residential, recycling, and commercial and industrial collection vehicles operate on BIO-diesel, the first in the Midwest.
2008 - Groot Industries makes a commitment to start converting its collection fleet to operate on Compressed Natural Gas (CNG). CNG is over 80% less polluting than pre-2007 diesels. ONE diesel engine idling is louder than TEN natural gas engines idling together.
 |
| Illinois Recycling Association Excellence in Recycling Award 2009 |
GROOT GREEN has always been more than just a color to us. It is the cornerstone of our attitude with regard to how we value our environment.
