Waste Hauling in Unincorporated Lake County

Lake County established waste hauler agreements with Groot Industries and Lakeshore Recycling Systems (LRS). This means that starting on June 1, 2022: 

  • Groot will provide garbage, recycling and yard waste pickup services to certain unincorporated areas in the northern half of Lake County and;

  • LRS will provide garbage, recycling and yard waste pickup services to certain unincorporated areas in the southern half of Lake County.


Who will be my Waste Hauler?

  • If you live in a city or village, you are not affected by these agreements and should contact your municipality directly for more information about your waste hauler. 
  • If you live in the unincorporated areas of Avon, Ela, Fremont, Lake Villa, Shields, and Warren Townships, you are not affected by these agreements and should contact your township directly for more information about your waste hauler. 
  • If you live in unincorporated Lake County but not in the townships listed above, then you are subject to the County’s agreement starting on June 1, 2022, unless you meet both of the following criteria:
    • You live in a neighborhood with a Home Owner’s Association (HOA), and
    • Your HOA has a single contract with a specific hauler, signed in writing by your HOA, that covers all residences within the HOA, that was effective prior to Jan. 11, 2022. NOTE: If you believe this is the case in your neighborhood but are not sure, please contact your HOA.


Waste Hauler Contact Information

For additional information about the new waste hauler services, contact:

Groot Industries

Lakeshore Recycling Systems

Waste Hauler Service by Township

About the New Waste Hauler Agreements

Lake County established consolidated waste service agreements with Groot and LRS together with a newly enacted unincorporated open burning ordinance that began on June 1. Throughout the year-long public engagement process that led to ordinance passage, the County recognized many residents would need an alternative option to dispose of landscape waste. To address that need, the County developed an RFP (Request for Proposal) that solicited waste hauler proposals for consolidated waste hauling services.

Why Consolidated Service? 

Consolidated service provides more competitive pricing for the community, and it also opens the door to new programs such as landscape waste hauling and food scrap collection. Consolidated waste hauling is a standard practice in the Lake County region as more than 235,000 of the approximately 250,000 households in Lake County are already serviced by franchise agreements. With the addition of the County’s new franchised waste hauling services beginning on June 1, approximately 99 percent of all households across the county (inclusive of residents both in villages and in the unincorporated area) will now receive waste hauling services through a franchise.

Consolidated waste hauling will lead to fewer greenhouse gas impacts with each ton of garbage collected and is better for local roads. In some areas, two, three, and even four haulers were driving on one local street per week to pick up garbage and recycling, typically on different days of the week.

Annual Rate

Lake County was able to negotiate price-competitive waste service agreements with Groot and LRS. In the majority of cases, unincorporated residents will see a decrease in their waste hauling rate. On average, the new rate will range between $240 and $310 annually, depending on the area of the county. Both haulers also provide a 10 percent senior discount, and there's a cap on how much your bill can be increased each year to protect residents from large increases annually.

Optional Landscape Waste Pick-Up Service

Optional landscape waste pick-up will be provided as part of waste service. Residents are NOT required to opt into landscape waste pick-up service. Service options for landscape waste pick-up are listed below. Residents should check with their designated hauler for pricing on these options. 

  • An annual subscription service that includes pick up of six bags/containers weekly, or 
  • An ad-hoc bag pick-up (simply attach a sticker to the bag when leaving it out).