Trashman keeps on truckin' at age 78

By Jim Johnson

Waste and Recycling News- Roger Groen

So there was a time in my life when I was convinced I would stop working once I hit retirement age. Even dreamed about maybe kicking back at age 62, if everything worked out.

That's easy to say when you are in your 20s.

My, how things have changed.

Having children later in life -- and children who will go to college even later in life -- will do that to you. But seeing what others have gone through once they retire also can have a huge impact.

Meet Roger Groen, still doing work that would wear out somebody literally half is age.

Groen is a garbage man through and through. Doesn't know what else to do with himself, even at age 78.

If Dick Clark was the world's oldest teenager, then Groen might be the country's oldest garbage man. He's not sure, but doesn't know of anyone else doing what he does at his age.

Groen is a pretty humble guy. Most trash men are. It just comes with the territory. He's happy with a life that sees him getting to bed by 8 p.m. or so and waking up at around 3 a.m.

Those trash collection shifts still come early for Groen at GTI Inc. of Blue Island, Ill., where he works for his two sons.

His is certainly not a life of leisure, but it's one that he enjoys. The exercise of being on the route 5½ days a week keeps him healthy, he said.

Check out Groen's story in the latest print edition of Waste & Recycling News and online here.

Groen, for his part, does not know how much longer he'll keep collecting trash, but he has no plans to slow down. Sixty-three years and counting.

He's a guy who doesn't need to do the work for the money – a successful entrepreneur who has built and sold two other trash companies during his career. His children have tried to get him to slow down. But there's a need to keep going, and he so does.

All too often, you hear about folks who pass away not long after they retire. The theory for some is that they couldn't find anything to replace what they had in their work life.

As for me, I don't plan on continuing to write when I hit retirement age. I'll be doing something completely different, whatever that may be.

And I'm already starting to practice.

"Welcome to Wal-Mart."

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