Niles residents no longer need to purchase a permit from the village when renting a dumpster for a temporary period of time and are now required to rent the container from an Elk Grove Village-based residential and commercial waste hauling company.
The change, which went into effect Jan. 1, is part of a new commercial, industrial and institutional solid waste services agreement with Groot Industries Inc. The Village Board approved the ten-year agreement in early December.
Trustee George Alpogianis said during the December meeting that the village was able to negotiate substantial cost savings for local businesses in the new contract, specifically an 8.5 percent reduction in recycling and refuse service fees, which amounts to a combined roughly $100,000 in savings for the first year.
“I think (the agreement) is a win-win for everybody, for our businesses, for the village of Niles and everyone in general,” Alpogianis said during the meeting.
The village first approved a contract for commercial waste services with Groot in 2008, and the company has been hauling residential garbage for Niles for the past 40 years, said Frank Hillegonds, municipal affairs manager for the company.
The new contract won’t directly affect non-commercial entities except for those residents who wish to rent a dumpster for a remodeling or similar construction project, said Hayley Garard, communications coordinator for Niles. In the past, Garard said, residents would have to purchase a permit from the village for $50 or $100, depending on how long they planned to keep the dumpster outside their home. The permit price paid for the costs to ensure waste haulers abided by the village’s rules regarding dumpster locations, according to a release from the village.
Those rules, Garard said, ensure the flow of traffic isn’t blocked by dumpsters and motorists’ views remain clear.
Under the new agreement, Groot is responsible for ensuring village regulations regarding dumpsters are followed, she said. Garard added that the new system, which requires temporary dumpsters be rented directly from Groot, will save residents time because permits are no longer required.
Additionally, she said, a portion of the cost of each dumpster rental — $1.50 per cubic container yard, dubbed a franchise fee — will be returned to the village’s garbage fund. Garard said the estimated $20,000 in additional annual revenue from the franchise fee will help cover the costs of garbage services in the village.
Hillegonds said the cost of the temporary dumpster rentals are “below market rates.”
Garard said the village has embarked on a campaign to inform businesses about the new agreement with Groot and what it entails.
“The (businesses) we have heard from have been really excited about it, but we haven’t gotten a lot of feedback,” she said.
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Hillegonds added that Groot plans to meet with Niles businesses in an effort to increase the volume of recycling they generate. Per both the 2008 agreement and the updated decade-long contract with the company, Groot is required to provide all village businesses with a free 95-gallon recycling cart.
“We’ll be going out and working with Niles merchants to see how they throw away their solid waste,” he said.
Lee V. Gaines is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.