State permit granted for material recycling facility in Round Lake Park
Groot Industries Inc. has received a state permit to build a demolition and construction debris recycling center in Round Lake Park, the first of two separate proposals the company is pursuing for an industrial area north of Route 120.
The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency recently issued a permit authorizing the development of what will be known as the Groot Industries Eco-Campus on 14 acres at 200 S. Porter Drive, near the company’s existing yard and natural gas fueling station.
The facility would accept up to 500 tons of concrete, steel and other materials each day with the requirement that 75 percent of it be recycled. The facility also would include a “citizen’s convenience center” for small loads.
According to the permit, the facility can operate from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays. While most work would occur indoors, any outside crushing or grinding is limited to 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Fridays.
Before it can open, Groot also will have to secure an operating permit and also may need permits for emissions or water discharge.
“We will apply for (local) building permits (but) we’ve got to finish construction drawings,” said Devin Moose, director of Shaw Environmental & Infrastructure, which is developing the plans for Groot. He said the facility could be open by summer.
Developing these recycling facilities is considered by the Solid Waste Agency of Lake County as a way to extend the life of landfills.
And village officials have embraced the project, as the municipality would receive 75 cents per ton on 75 percent of the weight accepted by the facility.
“It’s good for the county, it’s good for Round Lake Park, it’s good for the citizens,” said Mayor Jean McCue. “It will keep the landfills going longer, hopefully.”
But some area residents in recent months said they had been unaware of the plan and had questions regarding an increase in traffic, decrease in property values, and more noise, odors, dust and pollution.
The IEPA said traffic was a local matter and it did not have authority to address property values. Officials said conditions were included in the permit regarding the other concerns.
“We kind of thought that would happen anyway,” Amy Pieniazkiewicz, a Hainesville resident who has been involved in the issue, said of the permit approval.
Of greater concern to residents is Groot’s intent to proceed with a waste transfer station. In that type of operation, garbage trucks dump trash on a concrete floor where it is reloaded onto larger trucks to be taken to a landfill.
An application to the village to build and operate the transfer station at Route 120 and Porter Drive has been delayed. Groot has done an analysis as required by the Solid Waste Agency of Lake County and plans to make presentations to the agency, Lake County and neighboring towns.
“As far as the transfer station, I don’t think anyone will stop fighting it,” Pieniazkiewicz aid. “We don’t want it in our neighborhood.”